


dragons are cold-blooded

by sadfluffs



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Caretaking, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sickfic, Slow Burn, i just fell in love with writing them, just a little. they kinda act like they're dating but they just don't know it, literally over 10k words of these boys comforting each other, should go to about 7 chapters i think, thats it, this is much longer than i planned actually, update make that 20k
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22195894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadfluffs/pseuds/sadfluffs
Summary: ... so they need a patch of sunlight to warm them up!a cute, fluffy Raihan/Leon sickfic. they're supposed to go on a date, but Raihan's a bit unwell; massive amounts of cuddles, flustered Raihan, anxious Leon... and possibly some ill-advised kissing and poorly-timed confessions ensue. set (kind of) pre-relationship, so lots of gushy pining from both sides. mostly feel-good and sweet.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 112
Kudos: 502





	1. Chapter 1

Raihan was finishing up his gym battles for the day, looking a little worse for wear than usual. His throat felt scratchy and he was flushed, but not from hyping young trainers or working up a sweat. He’d woken up feeling like a dizzy, gross sack of garbage, but the last thing he had to do this day was just finish out this battle— which it seemed like he would win, luckily. 

Then, in an attempt to turn the tides, the trainer began to make it hail— a strategic move in a dragon type gym, but one that made Raihan want to groan that day, despite being impressed. He grit his teeth and shoved one hand in his pocket, trying not to shiver under the public eye while still looking casual. Ugh, was his nose running? He thought he might just faint from embarrassment. 

They went on for a few more rounds and he thankfully finished the battle well enough— though he noticeably didn’t take any pictures after the fact despite winning. He shook hands with the trainer and gave them a pat on the back, forcing a grin as he invited them back for a rematch another time and commended them on their effort. 

***

A few moments later, Raihan was sitting in the locker room with his head between his knees after making it out of the stadium, hugging his legs to his chest to warm himself up. He was surrounded by a small collection of crumpled tissues, used to blow his already stuffy nose after getting stuck in the hail storm, though it didn’t stop it from running. He would have taken a long, hot shower just then if he wasn’t worried about the suddenly very real possibility of fainting. 

His Rotom phone buzzed in his pocket. Notification one: Rotom asking if they should call someone for help.

“No, Rotom… ugh. I’ll be good to go after a bit.” 

The phone rolled its eyes. Notification two: a text from Leon. No. _Four_ texts from Leon. _Fuck._ That perked Raihan up fast, and he felt a sinking feeling of dread in his stomach as he frantically scrolled the messages, each a couple minutes apart (of course Leon was a bloody _quadruple_ texter— way to give someone a heart attack):

Leon: Nice win!!! That was awesome to watch, you looked amazing out there 

Leon: Even though you were freezing your arse off in the last stretch

Leon: I got to try that against you sometime, you can be a touch hot-blooded sometimes hahahah

Raihan couldn't take the time to properly freak out about how cute Leon was being in those first messages, since all the blood drained from his face when he got to the last one, sent just before he opened his phone:

Leon: Text me when you’re ready to go, ok? Waiting outside 

He was feeling so ill, he’d totally forgotten that he and Leon had dinner plans. Then he remembered they were even supposed to practice with one another afterward— and as a personal rule, Raihan _didn’t_ say no to battling Leon. But the idea of even walking back to his room was too much just a moment ago; how was he supposed to… ugh. 

His head was racing with a million thoughts as he forced himself to get up and throw out his tissues and wash his face in the bathroom. He sighed at his reflection. As much as he liked his own face normally, he unequivocally looked like hell right now. He needed a shower or a hot bath, a tea, medicine, literally anything. But Leon was _waiting!_ He bit his lip and raised a hand to feel his face, which was concerningly warm to the touch. His brain felt like mush at this point, when suddenly his phone buzzed again and floated over for him to read it. 

Leon: Too many people out front tryin to talk to me hahaha I’m just coming up 

If he had been holding his phone, he would have chucked it across the room in frustration, because of course that would happen. He hurriedly fumbled with his hair, trying to smooth it out, and washed his face again, then blew his nose. He was just in the middle of changing out of his uniform when—

“Raihan? Fancy ignoring my texts, mate?” 

Despite expecting him, Raihan started so badly he nearly choked. He was shirtless, about to put on some casual clothes, when a chill ran down his spine from taking off his jacket and shirt. He opened his mouth to answer Leon, but paused and quickly hid his face in his hands— muffling the sound of a sneeze.

“Oh! Bless you!” Leon said, jogging into the room. He grabbed Raihan’s sweater and carried it over to him, holding it out. He gently nudged his shoulder, noticing briefly how Raihan’s skin was a little warm to the touch— but mostly noticing his bare arms, and then the rest of him… Maybe he should’ve knocked first or something.

They often ended up changing around each other at events and such, but getting used to it didn’t stop him from thinking Raihan was gorgeous. He quickly averted his gaze and lost his train of thought, then remembered the sweater in his hands. “Here’s your jumper. Better get dressed before you come down with something.” 

Raihan sniffled, cringing at himself and leaning away from Leon and out of his gaze as he took the sweater and hurriedly pulled it over his head. He rubbed under his nose, trying to keep his head down. 

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks, mum. And I was gonna answer your texts when you invited yourself in,” Raihan teased, though he knew he and Leon basically shared their spaces at this point in their careers. 

As he dressed, he started to feel more and more sluggish as the adrenaline spike from his battle and from the embarrassment of Leon barging in was starting to wane, and he could hear how awful his voice sounded. He cleared his throat a little. “Got a place in mind for dinner?”

Leon frowned at the deflated, rough sound of Raihan’s voice. It occurred to him then that something was off, but Raihan had battled so well that afternoon that illness was hardly on his radar.

“Did you strain your voice out on the field today? Why don’t we stop for tea first?” Leon offered. 

“Huh. That actually sounds solid,” Raihan said, though when he tried to take a couple steps, he became unsure of his ability to walk to the café. He wanted to steady himself, but didn’t want to grab onto Leon out of nowhere, so he just paused and stared at the ground for a second, then shut his eyes to try and stave off some of the dizzy feeling. He was already starting to sweat in his casual clothes, which wasn’t a great date look… or an optimistic indicator of his health, either. 

“Our usual—? Uh…” Leon started a question, but stopped short as soon as he noticed something was the matter. “Raihan?” 

Being shorter, he had a plain view of Raihan’s face— and suddenly felt his heart sink to his stomach. He looked a lot of things— but mostly unsteady and in pain in a way Raihan rarely let show. For a moment, he looked so off-color Leon panicked and thought he might throw up. He wasted no time at all in putting a hand out to steady him, feeling way too protective to even bat an eye at the close physical contact. All his focus then was on figuring out what Raihan needed; he felt stupid for not noticing it earlier.

“Hey— you alright, love? You look a bit…” Leon trailed off, knowing Raihan might not take well to being told just how terrible he looked. But now that he could see his face more clearly, he noticed all the details he missed from afar during the match, like his tired eyes and flushed complexion. Now there was no doubt in Leon’s mind, he was positively ill. 

Raihan, despite appreciating the help and knowing it was out of necessity, somehow still felt completely flustered by the situation. If his face wasn’t hot from the fever, it would’ve lit up anyway at the feel of Leon’s firm grip on his shoulder holding him steady. And… did he call him _love?_ To be fair, Leon was sweet on everyone… but still! He partly wanted to just kiss him right there— but that was probably the fever talking… He bit his lip and tried to focus. Right. He was literally about to pass out. Maybe that should come _first._

“Uh. I— I’m good. Maybe I should sit a minute? You can wait outside—“ 

Leon’s heart broke a little at the request; he could tell admitting that something was wrong and relying on someone else was hard for Raihan, even when he was clearly in a bad state. He put an arm around him and walked him over to the benches, holding onto him for a couple moments longer than necessary while he thought about what to do. It felt like Raihan was radiating heat— which was weird, since Leon was used to being the provider of warmth in their hugs— but he somehow still seemed shivery and cold in spite of it.

“Do you need a coat, or— oh, I’ve got it,” Leon said suddenly, pulling away to undo his champion cape and then drape it over Raihan’s shoulders. He fussed with it a little before replacing his arm around him, giving him a little squeeze. “That better?”

The silly gesture was extremely endearing to Raihan, even if he majorly disagreed with the cape as an article of clothing in general (it was one of those things that only worked on Leon). He pulled it tighter around himself, feeling soothed by both the warmth it provided, and the fact that it just felt like a giant hug. Though Leon was always this helpful— even to strangers— moments alone like this still made Raihan’s heart race.

“Yeah. You don’t need to fret, you know— ‘s just a little bug. It wasn’t so bad when I woke up.” He fidgeted a little, thinking about how effortless it was for Leon to touch him without thinking. Meanwhile his mind was completely hyperfocused on every little movement they shared. He kept his eyes closed for now, not because he felt ill, but so he wouldn’t have to make eye contact just yet. 

“I know…” Leon frowned, clearly still fretting. “I just didn’t realize you were feeling so poor. I would scold you for battling, but I know you won’t have that— especially from me.” He broke into warm laughter. “So I’ll just have to scold you for not telling me earlier instead! I would’ve shown up with tea and saved us the trip, you know.”

He was smiling while he spoke, but then his face darkened just slightly with an expression— maybe guilt? He bit the feeling back and just finished with, “But seriously, we can hold off until you’re feeling better.”

“No!” Raihan blurted out without thinking, then backtracked. “I mean— I just needed a minute to rest, but we should still go out.” He cleared his throat a little nervously, which much to his chagrin, prompted a few harsh sounding coughs. He inclined away to spare Leon the grossness, but immediately in response, he just held him tighter, rubbing small circles into his back. 

Raihan trembled at the touch, suddenly faint and fluttery feeling. He completely forgot what he was going to say, only thinking about how Leon so instinctively pulled him _closer_ as he tried to get away. Maybe it was just the exhaustion and volatile emotions, but the sudden influx of cuddles was kind of— a lot to take in at once. It was too comforting, and too tender, and happening too quickly and unexpectedly. 

He tried to talk himself down internally: it wasn’t like he and Leon _never_ touched each other, or comforted each other, or spent time alone. They weren’t… dating (yet), at least, they hadn’t talked about it? But they were best friends; this _wasn’t_ that weird. 

But it felt more intense to him right now, when he knew he was particularly vulnerable. He wasn’t even sure when the last time someone besides a pokémon even _saw_ him sick. Let alone stayed with him. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath, nearly working himself into an anxiety attack, until—

“Raihan? You alright?” Leon swallowed nervously. He couldn’t really tell if Raihan was feeling worse or better, but he did feel certain that they should probably get him something to drink and a quiet place to lie down. “Hey, it’s okay. We really don’t have to go out. Or—” He suddenly realized he might be coming off a tad pushy. “D-do you want me to leave? I can just grab you a spot of tea and soup and be on my way, if you’re too worn out from the battle—“ 

Raihan blinked. He wanted to groan, mostly at himself. 

“Nooo… ugh.” He coughed once more, quietly, then took a deep breath. “That’s— no, no, Lee, you should stay. You should really… stay.” 

He tentatively leaned into the hug, hoping that would signal his intentions well enough, and just silently prayed to Arceus that Leon wouldn’t get sick after this. 

“But you seem really…” Leon began sheepishly, then settled on, “... um, spent.”

“Yeah, a little… but…” He didn’t know how to say that being alone would feel a thousand times worse after this, and that if Leon got up to leave, he might _actually_ start crying. So instead he just said, “... I think I can handle tea, at least… if that’s okay.” 

Rather than reply right away, Leon reached up and lifted Raihan’s hat, pressing the back of his hand flat against his forehead. His hand was cool and affectionate in a way that soothed Raihan immediately, almost making him sleepy. Then Leon gave his cheek a gentle pat before standing up. 

“Alright. If you think you can handle it, maybe the fresh air’ll be good for you. But we won’t go far, and you need to have some medicine before we walk. And a scarf, or you’ll seriously catch your death,” he laughed and then replaced Raihan’s hat, adjusting it until it was straight, then smoothed his hair, too. “I don’t want to boss you around, but your fever’s still a bit too high for my comfort.” 

Raihan smiled shyly with his gaze averted, a sort of strange look on his face. He knew he should probably take the day to relax— but his rationalization was that being with Leon anywhere _was_ relaxing. 

“You are way too good at taking care of people, you know that?” he said, as he stood up very slowly. He held onto Leon’s sleeve for support, but sitting down to warm up for a bit already did a lot to steady him. He went to a drawer and dug around until he could find some aspirin, which he kept on hand for post-workout soreness usually. “Just another responsibility of the champion, I’m guessing?”

“More like an eldest child— with an even worse troublemaker than _you_ for a brother,” Leon said with a laugh. “Always been this way. Picked up a couple habits growing up, I suppose.”

Though he did feel kind of giddy and nervous inside taking care of Raihan, in a way that felt different than he was used to. Maybe because he never really _got_ to with Raihan, since both of them always pushed one another so hard and pushed themselves harder, especially whenever in each other’s company. But even when ill, Raihan was brilliant and captivating— out on the battlefield and in private. He couldn’t help but feel extra charmed by it, even if it wasn’t how he expected their day to go. 

“Ah, so another natural talent of yours. Maybe someday I’ll beat you at this, too,” Raihan said, then pinched his cheek playfully. 

“Aw, give it a rest, mate. Threatening me isn’t going to make you feel better,” he said, trying to avoid bickering with him. Then, because he couldn’t help it, he added, “It’s not like you could, anyway; least not today when you’re feeling so rubbish.” 

“So you’re admitting I could normally?” Raihan said, evidently not slow to tease despite feeling terrible. 

“... Let’s just get going,” Leon said while rolling his eyes, though the idea of Raihan trying to beat him in a _niceness_ contest was admittedly a little endearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, thanks for stopping by!
> 
> thought i should just mention - i'm not british so sorry if anything sounds awkward! ... the games really do ham up the fact that they're british, though, so it's hard to feel too bad about that haha
> 
> please feel free to leave me any feedback or suggestions for this or other stories, i loved writing this! have a wonderful day ^^


	2. Chapter 2

After some playful bickering about Raihan changing into a warmer hat or putting on an extra scarf, and then a little quarrel about which way to turn to get to their usual café (even ill, Raihan  _ knew _ he wasn’t remembering it wrong), they finally got there in one piece. While taking a walk felt nice, the chilly day still sent shivers down Raihan’s spine; by the time they got to the café, he was rubbing his hands together as he stood a touch too close to Leon.

“Too cold?” Leon asked as he held the door open and nudged Raihan inside, though he clearly didn’t need the extra encouragement. “Awh, you really are a proper dragon at heart, aren’t you?” 

As soon as they were inside, Leon held out his hands. Raihan blinked, not understanding for a moment, until— oh. He was offering to help warm his up… His heart quickened, unreasonably flustered by the innocent suggestion— and with his brain already feeling like sludge, it was like he momentarily forgot how to operate his arms. 

After another second passed, he realized he was hesitating for too long as Leon began to get an unsure look on his face— so he glanced around to see if anyone was watching before nervously offering his own hands out. Hopefully Leon wouldn’t notice they were— 

“You’re shaking!” Okay, so he noticed— but at least he could chalk it up to the weather and not… the real reason. He immediately set to work on rubbing warmth into them with a focused look on his face. 

“... Oh, am I?” Raihan said, trying to keep his cool, but when he looked down and saw how his rival’s warm hands barely cupped his own, he couldn’t help but grin to himself at how cute it was, looking away so Leon wouldn’t catch him smiling. He wished he could snap a picture. 

“Yeah, let’s queue up so we can get a drink in your hands faster,” Leon said, letting go of him by one hand and guiding him up to the counter. 

As it was getting late, the café luckily wasn’t too crowded, so no one was around to come up and talk to them— which was a relief, since on top of looking too shit for selfies, Raihan really didn’t want to deal with any pesky rumors about him and the champion online today. _That_ was something he’d prefer to address on his own time. And with the way Leon was acting…? He swallowed nervously. Yeah, the talk would surely be brutal. 

After getting their drinks, they found somewhere outside of the front window’s view and sat down across from one another. For a little while, everything felt pretty normal to Raihan— like this was their plan from the start, and not something they were doing because he almost fainted in Leon’s arms half an hour prior. They talked about a bunch of things in passing— projects Leon was working on, things they noticed about the battle earlier, etc.— mostly just laughing together over hot, comforting drinks. 

Raihan was huddled around his mug (which looked adorably tiny swallowed up by his hands), using up any bit of warmth he could salvage by holding it close to his chest and putting his face over the steam rising from the surface. While this made him feel better, it had the unintended effect of making him a hell of a lot sleepier, and making his nose run. He sniffled a little, not wanting to interrupt the conversation to get up and grab a tissue, but it spurred on a coughing fit instead, cutting Leon off mid-sentence anyway. 

At this point, his voice sounded considerably weaker than earlier, prompting Leon to get anxious all over again. He put his hand on Raihan’s arm to steady him.

He covered his face with his sleeve as he coughed, going a bit red from straining his sore throat, and from making a scene. At least there was no one around to stare— besides Leon and the barista, that is. While talking to Leon was worth it to him, he  _ was _ beginning to seriously lose his voice— which he was going to need back in time for the gym events next week. Okay, so maybe he lost track of time… 

He held his slightly achy chest in one arm, then slowly sank into his chair, putting his head down on the table. Though taking some fever reducers helped with his mind’s ability to function, the rest of his body was clearly still struggling. 

Leon bit his lip, slowly rubbing Raihan’s shoulder. Once he quieted down, he moved his hand to stroke his hair instead, sighing quietly. He needed to keep his hands busy to soothe himself and help him focus, really— otherwise he’d get too antsy and probably say something stupid, or overdo it. Though an excuse to touch Raihan certainly didn’t bother him. 

“You okay? That sounded like it hurt,” he said, continuing to pet him as he spoke. 

Raihan just gave a quiet, muffled groan without lifting his head in response. He didn’t want to sit up yet, knowing he felt (and probably looked) disgusting— giving him mixed feelings about being with Leon, the person he cared most about impressing. Rather than wallow in embarrassment, though, he took a second to steady his breathing and enjoy the slow touch of Leon’s hand on his head, nearly knocking out right there. 

“Why don’t you finish up your drink and we can go? I’ll persuade Charizard into flying us back to your flat,” Leon offered gently. His expression and his voice didn’t falter, but truthfully, he was beginning to feel stressed about how much Raihan overextended himself. It was so difficult to tell how bad he was feeling from moment to moment, especially because he kept his wits about him so well— that is, until it was too late.

“Uh… sure.” Raihan stayed still for a few seconds with his head down, clearly drained, then defeatedly said, “Could you… get me a tissue?” 

Leon hurried off and came back with a whole bunch from the counter, tapping on Raihan’s shoulder to get him to lift his head. Once he did, Leon used it to gently wipe under his nose— which a sleepy, exhausted Raihan accepted for a second… before it dawned on him just how gross that was. He made a little flustered sound and proceeded to belatedly freak out— instinctively grabbing Leon’s wrist to wrench it far away from his face, squeezing it a little too hard in his panic. 

“Ow, ow—!” Leon tried to yank his hand back, but Raihan was holding on too tight. He dropped the tissue in surprise. “Sorry, sorry! Was that too much?” 

He was so used to taking care of Hop back at home that disgust didn’t even occur to him (and  _ especially  _ not with Raihan, whom he was convinced was incapable of ever looking disgusting). All that mattered in his mind was making the other person comfortable and cheering them up. 

He smiled back at Raihan with a bit of a helpless look as he gently tried once more to tug his hand away. The firm, heavy grip didn’t hurt at all, but his inability to easily break the hold signaled to Leon that this was really different taking care of his sweet (and rather scrawny) little brother… Raihan was, evidently, determined to push him to his limit— in every way.

“Wh— no, it’s just— fuck. Sorry,” Raihan said, regaining some of his composure. Did he really just do that? He did that. He sighed at himself as he dropped Leon’s hand unceremoniously, huffing a little under his breath. “You just— you shouldn’t get too close. You’ll get sick.” 

That was really only half the reason; the other half was, of course, that he was mortified at the idea of his crush seeing him in such a gross state— not to mention having to touch his face and clean up after him…? They were both adults— not to mention aggressively independent ones when they wanted to be. But this was making him feel so…  _ small—  _ a feeling he’d all but forgotten (with every person besides Leon, it seemed). 

He self-consciously covered his mouth with his hand, obscuring half his face. He felt like he was steaming now from blushing so hard. 

“Well, we’ve been sitting across from each other this whole time; don’t think it’ll make much difference now.” Leon rolled his wrist, basically unscathed, and held out a tissue for him to take himself instead. 

“Really?” A bit of worry accidentally snuck into Raihan’s voice. He withdrew into his chair a little and looked off to the side. “I didn’t think we were that—” 

Oh, right— they were practically on top of each other in the changing room, weren’t they? He wanted to curse, feeling stupid and guilty for possibly putting Leon in danger— even if this barely qualified as ‘danger,’ and even if it was sort of out of his control earlier. He hated the idea that someone was putting themselves out for him like that. 

“If you’re worried you might catch what I’ve got…” He frowned. “You should go—“

“Raihan, stop.” Leon interrupted him by pressing the clean tissue into his palm, wanting to cut his worries short. “I’ll be fine. Really.”

Raihan didn’t look particularly convinced by that, making a face. 

“I promise!” he added, laughing a little in his words. He wasn’t used to people worrying about him this much, at least not for something as trivial as a cold. He had a pretty sturdy immune system and wasn’t nearly as sensitive to the cold as Raihan, so he hadn’t given it a second thought. Sure, it’d suck if he got sick— but he was used to powering through it. A sick day (considering he never ever took them) might even be  _ nice, _ he thought, if he could spend it back at home, or with… 

Well, anyway, it didn’t matter. And though it was a little selfish, he might’ve also been partly glad to witness Raihan let down some of his defenses. He couldn’t say his heart didn’t skip a beat when he focused too long on his slightly messy hair, flushed cheeks, tired eyes. It was  _ so  _ different from his normal, photo-ready look— cuter, even, if that was possible. Taking care of him was all he could do to stop himself from just kissing him, sick or not. 

“Look, I’ll go wash my hands, and then we can go. How’s that sound?”

Raihan nodded, clearly still pouting a little bit— though his anxieties were for the most part quelled. And it wasn’t like he  _ actually  _ wanted Leon to go home… In spite of everything, he was enjoying himself. A café date with human perfection definitely beat… fainting in a chilly locker room by himself, which were his only other plans, apparently. 

With Leon in the bathroom, he took the short opportunity to blow his nose— something he couldn’t bring himself to do while he was watching. He was glad he didn’t, too, since it probably would’ve erased any possible attraction Leon had to him before. Ugh. When was the last time he felt so self-conscious? He really, really hated being sick. 

He downed the last sips of his tea and took out his phone camera so he could fix his hair, trying to look as put together as possible when Leon came back out a few moments later. He rushed to put it away when he heard the door crack open, earning him a cheeky smile from the barista. Yeah, yeah, everyone knew he could be a little vain. Whatever. 

“Ready?” 

“Just about,” he said, voice sounding thin. 

“Here,” Leon said, digging through his coat pocket for a cough drop, unwrapping it and holding it up to Raihan’s face as if to feed him. He normally kept them on hand for when he did public speaking events or longer meetings, which was lucky in this situation. 

“Oh Arceus, Leon, I can at least feed myself—“ Raihan said, laughing in spite of his sore throat. Did he have to be so sweet all the time? He plucked the little drop from Leon’s hand and popped it in his mouth, cracking it in half with his teeth immediately.

“Yeah, I know—“ Leon rolled his eyes. He didn’t realize he had so many little habits like that until Raihan kept peskily pointing them out. “Also, hey, you’re not supposed to chew on ‘em! That was so loud! Your poor teeth…” 

“Oops— wasn’t thinking. They’re fine, though,” he said, flashing him a toothy smile before making a conscious effort to roll the candy on his tongue— he realized it’d been awhile since he last had a sweet. The flavor wasn’t horrible— though it was Leon’s favorite, not his, which he felt weirdly proud of himself for knowing.

“There we go; feel better?” 

Raihan nodded, not wanting to work his voice anymore. 

***

After they left the café, Leon coaxed Charizard out of his ball and greeted him excitedly, giving the huge pokémon hugs and pats to say hello. It didn’t matter how often Leon took him out or battled with him; they always acted like that. Raihan pretended not to watch, but he was grinning under his scarf, heart melting. 

Outside had also gotten a touch colder as the sun went down, and there was an unwelcoming breeze passing through the Hammerlocke streets. Raihan shoved his hands in his pockets and even then still shivered, turning away from Leon to sneeze, trying to be quiet about it. He had his nose in a tissue when Leon came and put a hand on his back. 

“Awh, bless you! Just hang in there. We’ll be at yours in no time at all,” Leon said, gently guiding him over to Charizard, who acknowledged Raihan with a nod, but no eye contact. Raihan loved the pokémon (of course), though Charizard wasn’t as keen on cozying up with a familiar adversary as his trainer apparently was. 

“C’mon, Char— he’s not so bad! We can all get on with each other off the battlefield, can’t we? And he’s under the weather today,” Leon said in a sympathetic voice, trying to convince the pokémon to put the rivalry to rest. He turned back to Raihan, who was now hugging himself to stay warm. “Climb on right behind me— he can handle it. And he’s like a big heater— see?”

Leon took Raihan’s hand and pressed it palm-down to the side of Charizard’s neck. Even in the chilly weather, he felt exactly like a sun-warmed stone— kind of like Leon, Raihan thought. 

He smiled, savoring the warmth, then noticed Leon had kept his hand resting gently on top of his. He paused, staying very still. Did he notice they were still touching? He checked his face, and it seemed Leon was looking up directions to Raihan’s flat on his phone with his other hand. (It  _ really  _ wasn’t that far away, but alright.) 

Too sleepy to interrupt him and too cold to pull away, Raihan paused like that for a moment, closing his eyes. He thought about how gentle Leon really was when he wasn’t battling— was this the same guy? Even his hand, rough from the constant training, felt soft and comforting when it rested so lightly on his own. 

“Raihan?” At some point Leon had removed his hand and put away his phone to shake his shoulder a bit. “Don’t nod off on me just yet, love— wouldn’t want you falling off mid-flight, after all. Let’s go.” 

Was it just Raihan’s imagination, or did Leon sound different? More subdued, and private maybe— a quality of voice he wasn’t used to hearing. He stared at him for maybe a second too long trying to figure it out. Either way, it made him feel warm down to his core. He blinked tiredly, rubbing his face as he watched Leon get onto the pokémon then extend a hand to help him up, too. He smiled as he thought about how many times he got to hold Leon’s hand that day.

“Hold on tight, okay?” 

When Raihan was seated, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Leon’s torso, trying not to psych himself out too much. His mind was already swimming as he kept reminding himself it was just for the ride… 

“This good?” he asked, shoving his nervousness down as he tried to politely find his grip. 

“Here, like this, mate,” Leon said, maneuvering Raihan’s arms so that the hold was even tighter, forcing their bodies flush against one another. 

Oh Arceus, he thought immediately. If falling out of the sky wasn’t going to kill him, this  _ actually _ might. 

He noticed how Leon’s body felt different in his arms when they were this close— solid and snug, and slightly smaller than he’d imagined. Like he was just  _ built _ to be hugged. Moreover, he could feel every time Leon  _ breathed, _ his chest steadily rising and falling against his forearms. And even though he was ill, he could faintly smell Leon on everything— hair, clothes, skin— it was all so pleasant and soothing that it made him feel drowsy, but he couldn’t get enough of it. 

It also didn’t help that he was so _ warm,  _ like a personal spot of sunshine in all of dreary Galar winter. He wanted to squeeze him even harder, and possibly never let go.

This had to be a dream, he thought. 

The last time he’d ridden a pokémon with someone else had to have been when he was a teenager, and he didn’t remember it feeling like  _ this.  _ As these thoughts ran through his head, his face was sort of unintentionally tucked against the back of Leon’s neck— dangerously close to kissing him. He was so tired, though, that he wouldn’t have noticed, until—

“A– ahah, that tickles!” Leon giggled, squirming a little as a shiver ran down his spine. He didn’t anticipate that Raihan would be so tall that instead of resting on his shoulder or back, he was… a tad bit higher. Which did not feel bad— at all. But he  _ highly  _ doubted he would be able to fly properly with that kind of… distraction. He couldn’t keep himself from sounding flustered. “S-sorry, you’re breathing against my…” 

Raihan’s heart rate spiked and he whipped his face to the side, leaning his cheek against him instead. Hopefully Leon couldn’t feel his heartbeat through all the layers of their clothing; it felt impossibly loud in Raihan’s ears. Why did he feel like he’d just gone for his first kiss or something? He grit his teeth and tried to steady his breathing. 

“I’m— sorry,” he managed. “Is this better?”

Leon couldn’t help but smile, and smiled even more when he noticed how hard Raihan was gripping his clothes, apparently squeezing him harder with how embarrassed he must’ve been. It didn’t seem like Raihan was aware of it, though, so he didn’t mention it.

“It’s fine!” More than fine, actually, but he couldn’t bring himself to say that. “I wouldn’t care normally; just makes it a little hard to focus.”

Raihan was actually calming down until he realized what he’d said. ‘Wouldn’t care normally’? What was that supposed to mean? He swallowed and bit his lip. That… wasn’t something most people would be okay with, was it? So did Leon mean he  _ liked  _ it, or— maybe he just had a really rubbish sense of boundaries with friends? 

His brain was too fried to begin figuring all of this out; all he knew was that he needed to survive this trip home, and then he could feverishly overthink this relationship all he wanted. 

“Uh… right. Lee?”

“Yeah? You all settled now?”

“I guess…” he answered, then sighed. “Thanks for taking me home. I mean it.”

His voice was quiet, drowsy, and low, right behind Leon’s ear. Leon almost shivered, though not from the weather. 

“Of course. Wouldn’t be very good practice to let anything happen to my dear rival, would it? Or to my best friend.” 

Raihan wanted to answer, but couldn’t find the right words as Charizard lifted them off the ground in one swift motion. 

A few moments later, Leon realized from the way his cheek rested against him that he must be nearly dozing off, still holding him as tightly as ever. He started to hum something quietly to keep his attention in place of the conversation, smiling to himself. He considered tapping him to wake him, but figured as long as he didn’t let go, it was probably fine… He wanted Raihan to get all the rest he could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy friday, everybody! thanks for reading, and thank you for the kind words on the last chapter; it really warms my heart <3 
> 
> hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Despite Leon’s expert handling and how tired he was after a full day of work, it was hard for Raihan to actually stay asleep the entire ride. 

The wind was atrocious that high up, not helped by Charizard’s speed as they cruised through the air. The temperature seemed to drop steeply the higher they got, too, causing even Leon to take note of the chill. It didn’t really bother him other than the occasional gust of wind that would muss up his hair, threatening to take his hat with it. After a few minutes, he gave in— pulling it off to reveal some ridiculous hat hair and shoving it into his pocket instead. 

He wondered how Raihan was doing— and didn’t get the chance to ask when he got his answer much quicker than he anticipated, hearing Raihan sneeze behind him, apparently having just woken up to a face full of cold air. 

Arms occupied by hugging Leon and too groggy to react quickly enough, he had no way to cover his mouth— causing him to cringe in embarrassment once he realized where the hell he was. He sank into his jacket, craning his face toward his own shoulder, as far away from Leon’s back as possible. 

As he grew more alert, he quickly became aware of how much colder it was, shivering even while holding onto Leon. He was also irritated to notice he could barely breathe out of his nose, which was running again. Without a free hand to grab a tissue, he settled for just burying his face in his scarf— it was the best he could come up with on the spot, his head feeling like it was chock full of bricks. And like a cherry on top, Leon’s torso in his arms was a constant reminder they were basically pinned to one another, too.

“Gh… sorry—“ he began to say in a gravelly voice, but was interrupted immediately. 

“Goodness, you’re fine, don’t apologize! You didn’t sleep long… You doing okay?” 

Leon bit his lip. He was trying to sound upbeat, but Raihan sounded, frankly, terrible. And he was shivering so hard that he was shaking Leon’s entire body too, poor thing. He wanted to kick himself for putting Raihan in this situation, but he figured calling a Flying Taxi would’ve run them into similar problems… and the top priority was getting him home. The only thing that made him feel any better was that they were only a few minutes off at this point (he assumed, based on his phone’s map— he was mostly trusting Charizard to navigate).

“I’m… fine…” He spoke through gritted teeth, really trying not to let them chatter as he spoke. It was hardly any use; Leon definitely already knew he was freezing his arse off based on how much he was shaking. “I didn’t. Uh. Get your cape dirty, or anything.”

Despite the fact that he was having trouble speaking, he felt the intense need to clarify that, just for his own sanity. Much to his chagrin, Leon responded with a bubbly laugh, giving his arm a couple pats. 

“Mate, I couldn’t care less about that— I’m just worried about _you_ catching your death up in this cold,” he said, rubbing Raihan’s arms wrapped around his torso. He softened his tone, turning his head to talk over the wind. “We’re almost there… I think. You can put your head down on my shoulder if you need to.”

Raihan would have given anything to take him up on that offer _normally_ , but not… when his face was probably covered in sweat and snot. Yeah, that was _not_ happening, as much as he wanted it. Luckily, he peered over Charizard’s wing and saw that they were turning the corner to his street. He sighed in relief and shifted a little, wondering if Leon would still be up for cuddling after he’d had a hot shower.

Charizard touched down at the steps of the building, crouching close to the ground for the two trainers to dismount. Leon hopped off first, and Raihan physically felt his energy and mood crash immediately after they weren’t hugging anymore. Ugh… was he always this clingy? He slid off Charizard’s back and made his way toward the steps, a little wobbly on his feet from both the ride and just plain exhaustion. 

“W-whoa there—!” Leon was in the middle of calling Charizard back to his pokéball when he saw Raihan almost eat dirt on the steps. He rushed to his side and got right under his arm, pulling him into a leaning position. “I’ve got you. Are you dizzy? Airsick?”

The little twinges of panic that Leon had been suppressing all day were starting to creep into his voice all at once, which made him feel annoyed at himself. He really needed to keep it together, but feeling an uncomfortable warmth roll off Raihan’s skin wasn’t making it easy. He swallowed a lump in his throat, feeling strangely guilty, like maybe Raihan feeling worse was somehow his fault—

“Um. No? ‘M not some rookie flyer, you know.” He mustered a small, teasing smile, almost laughing. “Just tired… Are you cold, Lee?” 

Even with half a mind, Raihan had noticed the shift in Leon’s expression. He was doing _that thing_ — ugh, he hated seeing Leon get like this— that thing where he tried to take responsibility of _everything_ , even when he wasn’t doing anything wrong. No— even when he was doing everything _perfectly_ , because that was all Leon ever did. He decided a long time ago that he never wanted Leon to feel that way about him, and it wasn’t going to start today. 

“Huh?” Leon blinked. Raihan’s low, still drowsy voice immediately snapped him out of his mini spiral. After all, Raihan was just… Raihan. That calmed him right down. He sighed, then noticed that he could actually see his breath. “I— I guess so. Aren’t you? You’re the sick one.” 

“Obviously— dragon here; did you forget? But… I do feel a little better seeing that my champion has _some_ weaknesses,” he said, with about half as much bite as his normal sass. His voice was wrecked, for one thing, and he was really just talking to try and cheer up Leon. Based on the grin that spread across his face, it seemed like he was successful.

“Oh my goodness, cut it out—“ Leon was trying not to laugh. “Can you unlock the door while I call Charizard back? Don’t exactly think he’ll fit through the doorframe. I’ll meet you upstairs.”

Raihan nodded, feeling well enough to make it inside on his own if not much else. And that’d give him a quick second alone to wash his face. At least, that’s what he thought before Leon got on his toes and kissed his cheek.

_He kissed his cheek._

Raihan visibly short-circuited for a moment. It happened so quickly, too— like he almost could have imagined it. But what really shocked him was that it felt so natural coming from Leon— like they’d done it a thousand times before. But the thing was, they _hadn’t._ In reality, they hadn’t even broached the subject of either of their romantic lives, always seemingly occupied by other, more pressing responsibilities— especially after they’d both started their jobs in the gym challenge. He wasn’t even a hundred percent sure Leon was into guys since he was so shy around the issue; he’d just always kind of assumed (more like hoped).

But holy shit, he sure as hell wasn't going to unpack all of that here…! _What was Leon thinking?_

“Um— uh—“ He coughed a little. “O— okay…? See you upstairs…” 

He sounded out of breath. He didn’t wait for a reply before pulling out keys, then fumbled clumsily with the lock, hands shaking. He went as fast as he could, feeling like his face might explode if he stayed there too long. 

As soon as he got in, he let go of a deep breath and covered his (now completely flushed) face with his hands. Oh Arceus, he was so sweaty. He really was sick. And gross. And the person he’d had a crush on for almost a decade just kissed him for the first time, ever. 

***

As soon as Raihan was inside and Leon heard the steps lead further into the building, he started talking to himself. 

“Oh my god. Oh my god! _Why did I do that?_ ” 

He completely forgot about returning Charizard to his ball, now nervously pacing up and down the front steps to Raihan’s apartment complex. Which was fine, as Charizard was savvy enough to just wait this one out. 

Leon kept mumbling similar sentiments to himself as he alternated between pacing, covering his cheeks with his hands, and combing his fingers through his hair. The best he could come up with was that it felt almost like dropping off a date— and it was quite dark out, now— it seemed chivalrous to give a little peck on the cheek. 

“But you aren’t _dating,_ you— aaagh.” 

He collapsed into a sitting position on the bottom step, burying his face in his hands like it might rub off some of the hot blush on his cheeks. 

Okay, well, Raihan was the one hugging him for the entire ride… because he told him to, sure. But it really set up a mood! 

He wasn’t even sure what on earth he was talking about. Romance was never very top of mind for him— he barely had time to entertain thoughts of having a partner, and even less time to act on it. When _was_ the last time he’d been on a proper date, anyway? It was a bad sign when he started counting years on his fingers. 

He groaned. Why did any of this even matter? It wasn’t like he was _lonely_ ; far from it. His friends and family meant the world to him, and they would always be enough. But he wasn’t _incapable_ of… other feelings. Even if he got flustered out of his mind even thinking about it. 

He just always figured things would— work themselves out? That is, that he’d wake up one day in his dream relationship without ever talking about it out loud, to anybody. Okay, admitting that… made him feel a little bit like an asshole. And also was most definitely not going to happen. 

But things were already, and had been for so long, close to perfect— with Raihan, that is— that it didn’t feel like there was much left to work out. Other than the whole… never ever mentioning it. And still calling themselves single. And never having kissed each other. Oh gosh, maybe he _should_ do something about this, he thought. (Then remembered that he kind of… just did.) 

He let out a big sigh and called an impatient Charizard back to his ball, then put his hand on the doorknob, mentally hyping himself up to twist it and go up to Raihan’s flat. His heart was pounding almost as hard as it used to during his first gym challenge. The comparison actually steadied his nerves a little. Right, he’d been here a hundred times before. He could do this. 

***

Leon was taking such a long time to come up that Raihan was beginning to think he’d left. It scared him how upset that made him. 

He’d already long since washed up and changed out of his clothes into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and was now laying flat on his back with his arms spread out, in his bed, staring at his ceiling. 

His exhaustion, which already had a massive head start after he made the brilliant decision to go to work, seemed to catch up to him all at once— did his body hurt this much all day? Even breathing was starting to take too much energy; his head felt like he was underwater. Everything else felt as heavy and stiff as lead, and there was a low throbbing behind his eyes that felt like the beginnings of a killer headache. He figured it must’ve been from the fever, as the first dose of medicine had definitely worn off by now. 

… And Leon still wasn’t there. 

He couldn’t find the strength to rummage through his cabinets for more medicine— which meant he also couldn’t obsessively stare out the window to see if he was coming or not. 

He pulled his Rotom phone out of his pocket, turned the brightness all the way to zero, and started drafting a text.

Raihan: hey are you com

He deleted it. 

Raihan: sorry if i made things weir

Delete.

Raihan: i don’t mind that you kissed m

Oh man. _Delete._

Raihan: you can go home if ur busy, i’m ok now

His finger hovered over the send button on _that_ one out of all of them, even though it sort of ripped his heart to shreds. He was disappointed in himself for being so needy— and he decided sending that text would be his overly self-righteous punishment. That is, until he heard familiar footsteps in the hall and shot up in bed with a sudden adrenaline spike, knocking his forehead into his floating phone. 

“Ack— sorry, Rotom,” he said, rubbing his forehead as they floated off. That had to be the dumbest way to drop a phone on your face. 

When the screen timed out and went black, he caught a split second glimpse of his reflection and audibly said “yikes” under his breath. And… Leon was outside his door. Like, now—

“Sorry I took so long! I was— uh—“ He fumbled for an excuse as he made his way into Raihan’s room. “I was just…”

He trailed off as he got a closer look at Raihan’s face. Now that the gym leader was in pajamas, in a bed, without a hat, he really couldn’t understand what compelled Raihan to get up that morning. He looked kind of… dreadful. Handsome, and lovely, just— also objectively terrible. His heart dropped into his stomach, and suddenly his anxieties just melted into pure concern, and he forgot about finishing his sentence. 

“I— uh, I get it, it’s fine,” Raihan said, then cleared his already raw throat. He didn’t have much energy left in him to give— or more like he was already way over his limit— but he was just so relieved to see Leon. His brain was beginning to feel so foggy, it made him feel like he was waiting for a lot longer than was probably true. “I was scared you weren’t—“

He started that sentence before realizing what he was saying, then shut himself up abruptly. The last thing he wanted to do was put _more_ pressure on Leon. 

“Raihan, shh. Save your voice,” Leon said, almost whispering to match Raihan’s volume. He cupped Raihan’s face in his palm, running over his cheekbone with his thumb. “We— we can talk later— you must feel downright awful right now.”

“That bad?” Raihan asked, frowning. 

“You just look exhausted,” Leon said, pressing the back of his hand to Raihan’s forehead. The idea that he came in here worried about his crush, or a peck on the cheek, felt silly and far away. All of that would fix itself in time, he thought— but Raihan needed him _now._ “Let me take care of you.”

“You don’t have to do this for me— really,” he said to Leon’s surprise, voice breaking slightly. He didn’t sound sure at all, but he slowly reached up and took hold of Leon’s wrist, pulling it down.

“Raihan, love, have you lost your mind?” He set his jaw. Nope, he was not going to start crying… He let out a shaky breath. “I _want_ to be here— far more than any other thing I could be doing right now. You think I’d have come if I didn’t?”

Raihan noticed him nearly choke up and immediately averted his gaze. Damn, his heart was too soft for this. His grip unintentionally tightened around Leon’s wrist, but his thumb was stroking his skin, sending mixed signals. 

“... Would you be mad if I said yes?” He wasn’t really joking; part of him believed that Leon _would_ do this for anyone, whether he actually wanted to or not. Because he was just that kind of guy. And sure, that lit a little jealous fire in his stomach, but even more than that, it made him want to give Leon a fucking break— he was always being toted around Galar, doing events and favors for other people. And he did _not_ want to be added to that list. 

“Actually, I would be,” he said, finding Raihan’s response amusing even if he was still caught up in his feelings. “So just… don’t say that, and let me get you some dinner and medicine, alright?”

“Ugh, you are such a mum.”

And with that, he flopped back down into the bed. It was as good as a ‘yes’ for both of them. 

“You said that before, but I really don’t do this sorta thing that often— or as often as you think, at least,” Leon said, rolling his eyes. Raihan was still holding his hand, so he lingered at the bedside, staring down at him affectionately. “I can _barely_ handle myself sometimes, if I’m being honest. I’m only decent at taking care of pokémon… and Hop. And I’m out of practice with that, even.” 

“Guess I must be a ‘mon, then…” Raihan sounded really out of it, but subdued for the moment. The guilt didn’t really go away, but looking at Leon’s face, he could never actually say no to him. So he was staying, and they were both glad. 

“Yeah, you act like one, don’t you? Always giving me trouble.” Leon reached over and stroked Raihan’s hair. 

“But you love me anyway?” 

Leon blinked. He actually couldn’t tell if Raihan was asking seriously or not. He did, of course, but they said it out loud very rarely. Then he remembered that he’d kissed him— which they still… had to talk about. Later. His cheeks slowly grew hot. 

“Can I kiss your forehead before I go cook?” 

Answering a question with a question— not fair, Raihan thought. He would’ve been startled by it normally, but he was too drained to do anything besides accept love. He nodded, closing his eyes. He might actually die if he made eye contact with Leon that close up. He unintentionally held his breath as he heard Leon bend down. 

Then, there was a spot of coolness on his hot skin that lingered for a few seconds. He felt Leon’s hair hang down and brush his skin. _He’s kissing me,_ he thought to himself— not the most intelligent observation, but it was the only thought swirling through his mind. 

And then it was over. 

When he opened his eyes, Leon was already halfway to the door, like it’d never happened at all.

“Get some rest; I’ll be a minute. There’s water on the nightstand if you need it, but text me for anything else?” 

He stared at him with a dumb look on his face, and then finally nodded. 

As soon as Leon left the room, he put his hand to his forehead in the spot he got kissed, feeling almost like he could faint when he remembered it. And he could barely even remember it at all— everything felt so much like a dream (and like dreams he’d had), he was nearly convinced it was one. 

He opened a random app on his phone out of habit to distract himself, but only scrolled through a couple posts and barely read any before passing out, forgetting he’d have to wake up when Leon returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading and for your lovely thoughts, hope you enjoyed this friday's update with a little more,, feelings and h/c vibes, they're so soft oh my goodness. anyway, as always, feel free to leave any feedback & have a good week! <3


	4. Chapter 4

Leon stood outside Raihan’s room for a minute to collect himself before actually making it to the kitchen. His heart was pounding in his ears as he thought about everything happening between them in one day. 

He hadn’t even said anything— and barely even did anything— so why on earth was he so bloody nervous? But when he remembered how warm Raihan’s skin was against his lips, he couldn’t seem to slow his thoughts down, almost tempted to burst back in through the door and spill his feelings to a half-conscious Raihan.

Gah, he had other things to be worried about! 

He patted his cheeks and ran his hands through his hair, feeling exasperated with himself as he stepped into the kitchen. Okay— he just had to take care of two things: soup for both of them, and cold medicine for Raihan. 

He looked around, guessing where things would be— but by the time he opened most of the cabinets and the fridge, the only relevant thing he’d found was some more aspirin shoved into a random drawer. He stood in the middle of the mess he’d made, beginning to feel a sense of dread. 

Did Raihan… eat? 

He found himself growing increasingly worried as he did a more detailed poke around. The cabinets  _ felt  _ full— but they were stocked with protein shakes, pokémon treats (he had no shortage of these, actually), snacks and soft drinks. In fact, a lot of them looked like they came from sponsors— he recognized them from his own deals, or from Raihan’s social media. The fridge was slightly less populated than the shelves— containing mostly drinks, fruit, and random leftovers. 

Oh geez, he thought bleakly, it looked like Raihan was really… uh, used to living alone. 

When he’d moved out to Wyndon on his own for the first time, his mum was over a lot, visiting with a young Hop— both always stocking his house with things from back home since he’d left so early. And when she stopped doing that, the habits lingered— he inherited a tendency to cook for himself, often too busy or on too strict of a diet to go out. 

Caught up in the momentum of his own crazy lifestyle, he’d all but forgotten that most guys his age living alone weren’t making full gourmet dinners for themselves every night. But Raihan’s offensive “kitchen” was a loud reminder. Leon’s heart sank at the idea of him having only instant noodles or curry for dinner multiple nights a week. 

Okay, he was  _ going  _ to do something about this eventually— and kick Raihan’s ass while he was at it— but right now he had other priorities. 

He checked the time; he could run to a twenty-four hour convenience store and grab ingredients for dinner— he’d only need a couple things. And medicine, he remembered, since apparently Raihan didn’t keep any of that around, either.

It made him anxious to leave Raihan alone, but it would just be for a short time… He frowned, then stepped back into the bedroom to check on him before leaving. 

When he walked in, Raihan was knocked out, limbs spread apart in the bed, mouth slightly open— with a little bit of drool at the corner. He was even lightly snoring, chest rising and falling slowly under the covers. 

Leon came to the side of the bed and looked down at him. He very rarely got the urge to take pictures— well, rarely compared to Raihan— but he kind of felt it now. He looked so messy and unguarded— like some version of Raihan he remembered from when they were teenagers. He stared at him for a few seconds, admiring his face even though he knew it would’ve made Raihan self-conscious as all hell. 

Without thinking, he reached down and touched his cheek, then stroked his hair, then straightened out the blanket to cover him better. 

When all of this failed to wake him up, Leon paused for a second against his better judgement. Then— with a shaky hand— he lightly brushed Raihan’s slightly parted lips with thumb, feeling his light breath on his fingertips. They were kind of dry, probably from dehydration, but warm and soft, too— like he’d imagined they would feel. He let his thoughts wander, daydreaming about what it would be like to kiss him.

He probably shouldn’t have been doing this. But it wasn’t like he was  _ actually  _ going to do anything; he was just curious. And he looked so adorable, mouth slightly open like that. He peered in to look at his teeth, unable to suppress a smile. Were they actually sharp?

He was nearly about to check… when Raihan shifted slightly and scared the daylights out of him. He squeaked and yanked his hand back like he’d touched a stove— prompting Raihan to blink twice and look up at him, bleary-eyed. 

“O-oh, Raihan! I’m— I’m sorry! Did I— did you— were you awake? Just now?” 

Raihan was only asleep for the twenty minutes that Leon was tearing apart the kitchen, but that was enough to scramble his brain and his memories, completely disorienting him. He squinted at Leon, sensitive to the light. 

“Uh… what…?” he said very intelligently, not sure if he was dreaming. 

Leon sighed, relieved. It seemed like Raihan was really, really out of it— which was concerning, but it meant he probably didn’t… notice anything. 

“S-sorry, love, it’s nothing. Are you feeling okay?” he asked. 

“... Not. Great?” He didn’t sound like it, either— his voice was thick and gravelly with sleep, and strained with effort. “Should I get up now…?”

He started to prop himself on his elbows, but winced— his entire upper-body was sore from battling and coughing. Leon noticed and immediately put a hand on his chest to stop him. 

“No, no— I just came to tell you I’ll be a minute longer. Just need to go to the store, that’s all. But you can call me if you wake up,” he said, speaking slowly. He rubbed circles into his chest, feeling guilty for waking him up. 

“Mmkay,” was Raihan’s only response. He was only half-listening to begin with, and his mind zoned out by the last few words— quickly drifting off in response to Leon’s touch. It was, after all, his body’s first real break since he’d gotten sick— all the activity had worn him down. He was so dazed by then, he didn’t even feel Leon’s lips brush his forehead once more before he slipped soundlessly out of the flat. 

*** 

Leon actually got to the store with relatively few difficulties, for which he was rather proud of himself. Now he just had to deal with not getting turned around in the aisles… 

By the time he checked out, he knew he definitely bought way too much stuff, trying hopelessly to fill in the gaps of Raihan’s kitchen even though he originally only planned to get a few things. If he were anyone else, his arms might’ve fallen off from how heavy the bags were— practically spilling with different kinds of medicine, tissues, and enough food to cook dinner for two… for the rest of the week and then some. Perks of the champion’s salary? 

By the time he started to walk back, it was fully dark out— which didn’t help his natural inability to recognize where he was. Stack that on top of the fact that Hammerlocke wasn’t his hometown, and he ended up with a good workout before finally consulting Charizard.

He let himself in using Raihan’s keys, setting down the groceries on the table.

First things first, he thought Raihan was probably due for a dose of medicine— since it looked like he’d had next to nothing so far. He made sure to enter quietly, barely even creaking the door. Though it wouldn’t have made much difference— Raihan looked at least twice as passed out as before, lying on his side now, drooling onto the pillowcase. 

He put down a bottle of cold medicine on the nightstand before checking his temperature, holding his cheek in his palm. The heat coming off his skin and the thin layer of sweat over his face made him uneasy. 

“Raihan, love… can you get up?” he whispered, giving his shoulder a light shake. He noticed a shift in his own voice, almost not sounding like himself. It felt like he was talking to a pokémon, trying not to frighten them— something he wasn’t used to doing for someone as strong and confident as Raihan. 

In response to the gentle awakening, Raihan’s brow furrowed and he coughed, curling up on his side and holding his chest. He was breathing hard by the time he was done, face obscured by blankets. He was dizzy, everything hurt, and his t-shirt was sticking to his body with sweat. For the first time that day, he really regretted pushing himself so hard— and wondered feverishly why he always did this to himself… 

“Ouch— your poor throat, you sound parched. Um— it’s Leon, by the way…” 

Leon’s voice cut through his thoughts, and he felt a hand atop the blankets, rubbing his back. He knew he’d been woken up by someone, but hadn’t fully processed who it was— now, he could instantly tell who by touch and voice. He slowly rolled back over, exposing his face, but covered his eyes with one hand, unable to open them in the light. 

“Lee?” he murmured, voice almost cracking. He felt grateful for the presence of someone he trusted… then realized he couldn’t really remember what they were supposed to be doing together. He opened one eye and squinted at the window, seeing only darkness and street lamps. “What’s… happening?” 

“Just having a drink and some medicine right now. Dinner’ll be ready in a half hour. Can I prop you up?” 

Raihan blinked up at him slowly, then nodded. He was still confused, but had a few seconds to reorient himself as Leon arranged some pillows into a makeshift chair. He didn’t know how long he’d been sleeping, and all the details of their day were muddled, mixed among dreams. 

“Okay, there we go…” 

Leon leaned him back into the pillows, and he all but melted into them. Sitting up and now awake enough to get a better look, he realized Leon was fully dressed and even still had a coat on— which confused him even more. 

“Shit, did we have plans?” he asked. “How— how late is it?” 

“No— well, we did, I guess, but we’re staying in? It’s… about nine, now. Huh, I was out awhile.” He found the glass of water on the nightstand and held it out. “Anyhow, don’t worry about that. Can you drink this? You’re not nauseous, are you?”

Raihan paused and took stock of his sluggish, achy body, then shook his head as he reached up for the cup. It felt weird and cold in his hands, and his wrists were shaky as he brought it toward his face, prompting Leon to steady it while he drank. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was, but in a second blew through about two thirds of its contents before Leon stopped him. 

“You’re going to make yourself ill,” he laughed, replacing the cup on the bedside table. “You must be so dehydrated.” 

“Hadn’t noticed.” His voice was a little closer to normal, other than the fact that it was still thin-sounding and groggy with sleep. Though he was slowly coming to, he felt like he’d been sleeping for a long time. “... It’s not morning?”

“Hardly,” Leon said, smiling a little at Raihan’s questions. “You napped for about an hour, give or take. Sorry— could you scoot over? I bought medicine.”

Raihan obliged, happy to let him sit, but the words didn’t click until he heard the sound of the cardboard packaging being torn open as Leon took the bottle out. He blinked.

“Wait— you bought that?” He sat up straighter so he could peer over at him, then frowned, feeling vaguely guilty as it dawned on him that these were probably things people were supposed to already have around. 

He wanted to apologize, feeling self-conscious about how much better Leon was at all this, and how clear it was that he had no idea what he was doing. How did other people just… know how to take care of themselves? The internet? Ugh. Ever since he got his job as a gym leader, no one ever checked up on him like this— so no one ever corrected him. 

“Yeah, and a couple other things. Don’t worry about it,” Leon said as he poured syrup into a tiny plastic cup. 

“Let me— let me pay you back,” Raihan said, grabbing Leon’s sleeve to convey the urgency of his request. His voice made it clear he wasn’t really talking about the money.

“Hey, you’re gonna make me spill it!” Leon smiled warmly and put down the bottle. “I  _ said  _ don’t worry about it. Seriously.”

“But—”

“Raihan…” Leon put on a teasingly stern voice that, to his surprise, actually quieted him down. He must’ve still been tired, since that would’ve never worked normally. He used his free hand to straighten out Raihan’s hair, smoothing it back out of his face, then held the cup up to his lips. “The taste might be a little foul, but you can drink water right after.”

Raihan could barely breathe through his nose, but the artificial pecha berry and bitter medicine scent that came through made him apprehensive. He realized how strongly he associated that smell with childhood and instinctively pressed his lips together, craning his head away and sinking resolutely into the pillows— like an actual child would. 

Before Raihan could even realize what he’d done, Leon had broken into a soft laugh, nearly spilling some of the medicine. 

“That’s— you’re so— oh my goodness.” Leon bit his lip to stop himself from calling him ‘cute.’ 

“Ugh, shut up— I just… is it always like that? Like— so… gross?” he asked, inarticulately trying to justify himself for acting so childish, but it didn’t exactly work. 

“Unfortunately. But you can handle it, can’t you? Pretend it’s one of your energy drinks in the fridge— it’ll do you more good, and probably taste about the same.” 

Leon joked about it, but he wasn’t overlooking the fact that it seemed like it’d been… a really long time since Raihan took medicine. Should he have been keeping a better eye on him, he wondered? He pushed down the anxiety in his chest— if he thought about all the things he might have missed during the earlier years of his championship, he’d just drive himself crazy. 

He tightened his grip on the little medicine cup just slightly, staring down at it. He was here now, he thought. That had to count for something. At least they were together  _ now.  _

“You looked in the fridge?” Raihan blurted out in a panic, interrupting Leon’s thoughts. His apartment wasn’t exactly his idea of… guest-ready. And  _ especially _ not for a guest like Leon, who also happened to the champion of homemaking, apparently. 

“Uh, I looked at— everything? Was I not supposed to?” Leon smiled sheepishly. “I had to see what you—“

“ _ Holy shit _ . No. I mean— it’s  _ fine _ , it’s just—“ He reached up as if to pull his hat down over his eyes… only he wasn’t wearing it. Whoops. He fumbled over his words as he kept his face covered with one hand, still too feverish and out of it to properly place his words. “That’s so embarrassing… I— ugh. Most of that stuff is just from— I didn’t—“

He fully expected Leon to look down on him after this— despite how much people adored him and how proud he normally was, that confidence really only applied to— well, the  _ good  _ parts of him, like his style or his job. But now Leon of all people was privy to the fact that… he was actually a fucking dumpster fire in private. And who would want to be with someone like that…? 

But instead Leon just laughed affectionately, unswayed by Raihan’s panicking.

“I know, I know. You’re fine, don’t worry!” he said, gently pulling his hands away from his face to reveal a slightly pouty expression. “You just had me concerned, that’s all— you must be so thin; no wonder you’re ill…” 

He reached down and touched Raihan’s waist through his t-shirt, which made him jump, feeling slightly ticklish. 

“Gah— stop that!” He couldn’t suppress a smile as he grabbed Leon’s hand, pulling it away from his side. He reset his face into a stern look and huffed, but was secretly relieved, if slightly thrown off. “You’re gonna spill the medicine.”

“Well, I wouldn’t if you’d just drink it, you know,” Leon responded playfully. 

“Ugh… fine, give it here,” Raihan relented, not wanting to turn down Leon’s favor after being called out. 

“Here, wait, maybe this’ll help—“ 

Leon reached over and pinched his nose shut, then spilled the syrup into his mouth without any pause. Raihan would’ve protested, but clearly Leon had perfected the motion; he had barely any time to process what was happening before he was swallowing the medicine. As soon as he was released, he took a deep breath and made a face. 

“Egh— that’s awful,” he said, voice noticeably smoother. “And I could’ve done that myself!”

“It’s far easier if you’re not expecting it,” Leon said, petting his cheek as a sort of reward. “But you’re done now— not so bad, right? You can wash it down if you like.”

Raihan sipped the rest of the water slowly, collecting himself and his thoughts. His cheeks felt hot, and his breath fogged the cold glass in his hands, but he wasn’t sure if it was just from his fever. Why did Leon insist on returning all his stupid mistakes with patience? 

He felt kind of emotionally unprepared for it; he expected Leon to always be the one pushing him, challenging him to do more and do better. But now  _ he  _ was just doing that to himself, and Leon had become the one reeling him in, talking him down, making him feel better. He felt slightly dizzy as he finished his water. 

“I’m going to go cook now,” Leon said, breaking the silence as he took the glass. “You can stay here and rest, I won’t be long—”

“Wait, Lee.” 

Raihan grabbed his arm, but didn’t even know what he wanted Leon to wait  _ for _ — he didn’t know what he was going to say, and his mind was still too soupy to settle on just one thought. Well, there was  _ one  _ thing he could say— but he wasn’t quite ready for that one yet. 

“Uh... Yeah?”

Oh Arceus, why was his heart beating so loud?

“You’re not… upset?” 

That wasn’t what Raihan meant to say at all, but he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. In response, Leon’s brow furrowed— what was with the sudden atmosphere? He blinked at Raihan’s face— was he about to cry? What just happened? 

“Wha—? No? Did I say something?” 

“N-no, I— I just… feel like I’m giving you trouble,” he managed, mumbling to the end of his sentence, barely understandable with his gaze downturned. “You’re being too nice.”

“Oh, Raihan…” That’s what this was about? He would’ve sighed in relief if his heart didn’t hurt so much. He wanted to quell his worries, but found himself caught up in Raihan’s nervousness. “I— I really, truly don’t mind, you know…”

“I don’t want pity,” he said stubbornly. “I know I’m not so proper, like— like you ‘n Sonia are about it, but I can still… take care of myself…” 

His voice fizzled out by the end— probably because he wasn’t sure. Even though he hated it, having Leon there made him realize how much  _ better  _ this felt— how much he always hurt himself if left alone. That was the worst part of this: knowing he did secretly want Leon to drop everything, to stay in Hammerlocke and take care of  _ him,  _ to choose him over every other important thing he could be doing… Just this once, that was all he wanted. But how could he not feel guilty about that? 

“Yeah, I know,” Leon said, shocking him out of his anxieties. “You’re the strongest person I know, Raihan— of course you’ll turn out fine no matter what it is. And I know I’m fussing, but you’re just a little under the weather— it’s not  _ that  _ serious.” 

Leon put a hand on his cheek, noticing then that Raihan was tearing up— only slightly, and just at the corner of his eye. He brushed it away with his thumb and bit his lip, trying to keep it together himself until he was done talking. He wasn’t upset— he just hated seeing Raihan cry. 

“To be honest, I’m doing this for myself as much as you— I’d have long since worked myself into a fit worrying, if I hadn’t pressed you to let me stay! Do you honestly think I could get anything else done like that? You know I don’t half-ass anything— so if all I’m thinking about is  _ you,  _ I might as well be here with the real thing.”

Raihan looked down, barely able to hear Leon over his pounding heart. Oh man, he felt like he was going to faint. Leon thinking about him that much,  _ caring  _ about him that much— practically reading his mind— did nothing to help him stop crying. He couldn’t even think about responding; instead, he just quickly put a hand over his eyes, curling in on himself, trying to hide his face— but his body trembling was a dead giveaway. 

That was the last push Leon needed to become a mess too, though he didn’t particularly care about the tears rolling down his own cheeks at this point. He didn’t think before he hugged Raihan tight, squeezing him to his chest and gently whispering comforts under his breath.

Whenever they hugged before, Raihan always stood taller him; he more than knew the comfort of leaning into his chest. But he realized he wasn’t quite used to this— the feeling of Raihan hiding his face against him, the feeling of snuggling into his hair, kissing the top of his head… He’d really been missing out. 

They stayed like that for another minute until Raihan pulled away, sniffling. Leon used his own sleeve to wipe under his nose, but Raihan couldn’t muster the energy to care— he’d already dirtied his shirt, anyhow. 

“You alright…?” 

His breath was shaky as he settled down, and he struggled to come up with something to say… until he blinked his slightly puffy eyes and saw Leon leaning down with his eyes closed. It took a second for that image to process, but when it did, his eyes widened and he instantly reached up and squeezed Leon’s face, shoving it up and away from his own. 

“Mph—!” Leon made a distressed sound, cheeks being squished as Raihan maintained a death grip on his face. He wrestled himself out of his grasp, then took a deep breath. “What the heck was that for?!” 

“You— y-you were going to kiss me!” Raihan spat, nearly hyperventilating. 

“Y— yeah— I— d-do you not— is that a bad thing?!” Now they were both freaking out. 

“Oh, no. No no no. No way,” Raihan said. “I am  _ not  _ letting this happen right now, Lee— I look terrible. You’ll get sick!” 

“Nice priorities, mate,” he said, laughing despite feeling so embarrassed he could die. “But you could never look terrible… And I won’t get sick. Probably. I just want—”

“Nope. Stop right there.” 

Raihan stood up, finally feeling well enough now that the medicine was kicking in and he’d rested a bit. He took Leon by the shoulders and steered him toward the door. As if being a sick, disgusting mess wasn’t bad enough— Leon was going to wait until he just finished  _ crying  _ to kiss him? After a literal decade of crushing, they were gonna have to do a little better than  _ that _ . 

“But Raihan—!”

“What’re we making? Soup? Let’s go.”

“Raihan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohh my goodness, sorry for the tease!! raihan cares a little bit too much about these things! this one got quite feelsy too hahaha 
> 
> as for some business - i've started school this week! i'm going to try to continue updating on fridays, but if i run a bit late or switch to a two-week schedule, i'm sorry! hopefully this slightly longer chapter makes up for that! ^^;;
> 
> lastly, let me just say thank you again to all of you who keeping up with this silly, fluffy fic - your support and responses really bring me a lot of joy and warmth these days ! you're all the most lovely readers i could hope for, and i seriously couldn't be more grateful <3


	5. Chapter 5

“Ugh… everything hurts.”

Leon was smiling to himself, pleasantly surprised; he wasn’t expecting Raihan to have the energy to get out of bed, much less keep him company while he cooked. Though it still couldn’t have been easy for him— based on how much he was complaining, and how he was hanging off Leon’s back while he chopped vegetables.

“You can sit down if you want, you know.” 

He emptied his cutting board into a boiling pot, making soft splashes as the chunks fell in. 

“Are you kidding? Been waiting a long time for this, mate.” 

Raihan was hugging Leon from behind, arms around his waist, keeping their bodies pressed close. His long hair was up for cooking, leaving an empty space for Raihan to rest his head. Too tired to stand up straight, his face was tucked between Leon’s neck and shoulder, with his mouth sleepily mumbling words into the edge of his shirt collar. 

“For what?” Leon asked, though he mostly knew the answer.

“To do this,” Raihan said, before kissing the side of his neck— slow, barely brushing his skin. He didn’t have the energy to do more, and even then took frequent breaks to catch his breath, sniffling and sighing warmly against Leon’s neck. This would’ve been perfect, he thought, if he weren’t half-asleep, achy, with his head full of bricks. But all things considered, he still couldn’t stop himself from smiling— it might’ve been perfect anyway. 

Maybe he was being a bit annoying, especially since Leon was cooking— and the food was for him, no less. But if he could trust his fever-ridden memory, Leon had given him a couple kisses already— he was just catching up, like always. 

Leon stiffened, trying not to shiver. They still had yet to actually talk about… _them,_ whatever that meant, but Raihan seemed to be in a rather good mood after their failed almost-first-kiss. Well, actions always came a little easier than words for Leon anyway— and it seemed like that momentary impulse of his was confirmation enough of his feelings. Good; at least Raihan was more comfortable, he thought… as he felt his entire face flush, and a nervous knot in his throat. He was holding his breath, and at some point had shut his eyes, trying not to make a sound.

Since when was he so sensitive...? How long had it been since anyone was this close? It was different from when Raihan was hugging him while they were flying— that wasn’t on purpose; he could force himself to get over it quickly. But this? This was all so deliberate, almost painstaking— he was sure Raihan was teasing him, at least a little. 

They’d never done anything so physically intimate before, never even spoke about it— so why did it feel like Raihan already knew all his weaknesses? He wasn’t used to not having the upper hand… but then again, maybe he was just weak for _Raihan._

The knife clattered against the counter as it fell out of his hand and reminded him where he was. Oh right, he was supposed to be doing something. 

“H-hey,” Leon said, trying to sound stern but his voice just came out breathy. He was supposed to be an old hand at maintaining his focus, but now he was so thrown off he could barely form a sentence. “That’s… not safe—“

“I don’t care,” Raihan said, grinning. He did stop, though— inclined to be obedient while Leon was doing him a favor. To Leon’s surprise, he even softened his tone a little— though he noticeably didn’t loosen his hold at all. “... Do you need any help?”

The way his voice got small was almost as distracting as being kissed, Leon thought to himself. He really was a sweetheart when he wanted to be. 

“From you? Have you _seen_ your kitchen—”

“Ugh, stop that,” he groaned, burying a pout in Leon’s shoulder. “I’ll do some shopping over the weekend. I can cook, kind of, if I’ve got to, y’know.”

He might’ve been exaggerating— dressing up instant foods on his own didn’t quite compare to… whatever Leon was doing. He could cook for his pokémon— did that count? He bit his lip. 

“Uh huh. I can tell by how confident you sound,” Leon teased, but quickly reached up with a free hand to pet his cheek. “It’s okay— already did the shopping, love. And… the kisses were help enough. Just keep off anywhere that’s gonna get either of us burned?”

“Mm… you’re just being squirmy,” Raihan mumbled, but it wasn’t a complaint— he was actually all too charmed by how his touch, as slow and gentle as he was being, was still so novel to Leon. He was almost glad his attention was split with the cooking; he might’ve accidentally snuck a kiss on the lips had they been facing each other, and he really did _not_ want to let himself cave on that. 

They stayed snuggling for the rest of the cooking, Raihan gradually slouching lower and lower on Leon’s back as he acquired a soothing rhythm tending the pot, stirring and occasionally adding spices or ingredients. He was nearly dozing again, even standing up, listening to the lulling scrape of the wooden spoon in slow circles. His little kisses and nuzzles had just about melted into just a face pressed against Leon’s shoulder. 

The steam rising from the pot, the smell of spices, and the open stovetop flame were all warming both of them right up— Raihan maybe a little too much, as he was starting to dampen with sweat, too mellowed out to notice. His nose had started to run and his eyes were half-lidded when Leon patted his arms to stir him. 

“Alright, sleepyhead. Keep it together just a tad bit longer, okay?” 

Raihan sniffled in response, then coughed— angling his head down into Leon’s shoulder, squeezing him tighter. Weirdly, the gesture made Leon smile— he must have been really comfortable not to move away or let go. And comfortable _with him_ to not freak out about it, too. He didn’t even lift his face, just groaning a little in response. 

“You alright? I’ve got some tea going, too,” he said as he shut the stove off. He slowly walked (or rather, dragged) a nearly limp Raihan over to the couch, plopping him down. “Honey and sitrus?” 

“Mm, sure… s’cold now… don’t go,” he complained weakly when Leon separated himself from the hug— even making grabby hands for Leon’s shirt.

“I just have to get the food,” he chuckled. He did linger for a few moments, though, to kiss the top of his head, nuzzling his messy hair and sighing gently against him.

He grabbed the loose quilt off the couch and put it over Raihan’s legs, straightening it out until he felt like he was covered enough. Then he went and found where he’d shed his cape earlier and wrapped it around Raihan’s shoulders, taking care to cover his bare arms. Once he was satisfied with his work, he stood straight and grinned. Despite Raihan’s usually intimidating height, he looked considerably smaller under all the cover— plus he was slouching, too, with his eyes almost closing and gaze turned downward. Leon crouched a little and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Better? I’ll be right back,” he said sweetly, giving him a few encouraging pats. 

Raihan nodded without looking up, then pulled the cape a little tighter around himself, shifting until he was comfortably reclined on the couch. 

Leon was stirring a spoonful of honey into Raihan’s tea when he heard him sneeze in the other room, though the sound was almost completely muffled. He had a rather loud personality, normally— they suited each other in that regard— so it was charming to Leon how polite and reserved he was about being ill, especially considering how long they’d known each other. He grabbed a box of tissues and held it under his arm while he carried in the tray with their food on it. 

“Bless you,” he said as he walked in, then set the tray down on the coffee table. He tore open the box of tissues and pulled one out, wiping Raihan’s face.

“Ack— oh my gosh, stop,” Raihan said while cringing away, but he was smiling. “Too gross.” 

“Rai, I _literally_ just tried to kiss you. It’s confusing and adorable that you think I could care,” he said, sitting down next to him and continuing to fuss over him anyway. “Um… that— uh, offer still stands, by the way. Whenever you’re ready.”

“You mean in a couple days when I look amazing and I take you on the date of your life to make up for this disaster? Sure thing,” Raihan said. He leaned his head on Leon’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “Seriously, Lee, don’t tempt me. I _don’t_ want to get you sick.”

“Oh, hush. Today was a fine date, if you ask me— I don’t want anything else in return.” He turned to snuggle the top of Raihan’s head. “... Well, _besides_ the kiss, I guess.”

“If you’re gonna go on about it, we should just get right to eating,” Raihan said, slowly sitting up and blinking. 

For the first time, he got a proper look at what Leon had been working on. Steam was rising out of the two large bowls, both full of little bits and bobs— meat and vegetables, noodles, a perfectly boiled egg split in two— all sitting in a hot, dark broth, with two chunks of bread lying close by. Raihan swallowed, remembering suddenly that he’d skipped his earlier meals at work, too sick-feeling and tired to feed himself. 

He bit his own tongue and touched his stomach; he hadn’t been feeling as hungry as he probably should have, but looking at food was definitely spurring it on now. And besides just looking tasty— this was something made by _Leon;_ how lucky was he? 

“... I’d tell you it smelled good, but it wouldn’t mean much coming from me right now,” he said, embarrassed at how indulgent all of this felt. “Thanks for this.”

“No worries; it’s my supper, too, you know,” he said, then tore a chunk of bread apart, dipping a small piece in one bowl. He held it to Raihan’s face. “Ahh.”

Raihan stared at him for a second, not registering the gesture. He frowned, until he understood by Leon’s miming that he should be opening his mouth. Oh. Though he still looked a little uncertain, he did as he was told— then involuntarily closed his eyes and put his hand over his mouth after Leon actually put the bread in his mouth. Maybe he was really famished, or maybe he was just really in love— but he was fully convinced this might end up being the best meal of his life. 

“W— well? Is it not good?” Leon asked, becoming rather insecure when Raihan didn’t comment right away. He quickly grabbed a spoon to try some himself, but was stopped by Raihan’s hand grabbing his arm. 

“No! No— goodness, no—” Raihan said after swallowing. “It’s like, criminally good. I might actually die. People shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy themselves this much.”

“Oh gosh, don’t go that far!” Leon said, with a sheepish laugh— he was clearly relieved, though. “You really like it?”

“Yeah— of course I do. Lee, you’re amazing. Don’t you know that by now?” he asked, grabbing his own piece of bread to dip into the soup, taking a huge bite. He couldn’t taste everything without a sense of smell, but he didn’t have to; it was infinitely soothing and grounding to have something warm and solid sit in his stomach after a long day. 

“I…” Leon paused, staring down at the meal he’d cooked. He was at a loss for words, unsure of how to take the compliment, unable to answer Raihan’s question. He furrowed his brow as he tried to cobble together a response, but Raihan beat him to it, holding a spoon in front of him.

“Here.” It was unusual seeing Leon insecure, but Raihan could pick it up in an instant. “You must be starving, too— running around for me and whatnot.”

If _he_ was bad at being hand-fed, _Leon_ was infinitely worse— maybe because he caught him off-guard, but more than that, Raihan got the sense he’d probably never… done it before. He didn’t open his mouth wide enough, he was unconsciously inching himself away, and he looked almost comically nervous— a really quirky, uncharacteristic expression on his face. It was as adorable as it was sort of heartbreaking. 

“Well don’t look scared of it, mate— you made it!” 

Raihan managed to get the food into his mouth and put the spoon down in the bowl, watching him chew. He was used to feeding his pokémon, but this was different— his pokémon never looked so confused about it. He resolved he’d have to just start feeding Leon all the time after this. 

“What do you think?”

“Um— it’s fine, I suppose,” Leon said, unable to mask how flustered he was. He reached up for his hat, which of course, he wasn’t wearing— then just ran a hand through his hair instead. “I— I already tasted it while cooking, so…”

“Ugh, I can’t believe how modest you’re being about this. Where’s the champion pride? Brag a little, you did a proper job.”

“You’re being silly— if you finish your food, that’ll be confirmation enough for me that it’s good, okay?” 

“Was already planning on it,” Raihan said. He reached down to lift his bowl to his lips, but his wrists were shaky holding anything heavier than a cup of water— which Leon noticed right away. 

“Oh— you’re tired,” he said, snapping out of his self-consciousness. He put a hand on Raihan’s forearm, petting him a little. “Here, sit back. I can just…” 

He trailed off as he took the bowl into his lap, spooning some of the food up to feed him again— this time clearly intending to do this for a while.

Raihan was going to protest, but he was drained and achy enough that leaning back was too tempting. After he settled himself a little, he ate hesitantly off Leon’s spoon, and they fell into a slow, quiet rhythm like that for a while. Leon put on the television and set the channel to whatever gym challenge matches were being rerun at that hour, but neither were really watching; it just provided some low light and background noise. 

Raihan pulled Leon’s cape a little more snugly around him now that he wasn’t using his hands, sinking into the couch. He had to try not to fall asleep between bites, feeling the most comfortable he had all day. 

“I was worried you wouldn’t have much of an appetite,” Leon said after some time had passed— there wasn’t more than a bite or so left in Raihan’s bowl. “But you’re always exceeding my expectations, so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Hm?” Raihan blinked sleepily, then looked down. Had he eaten that much? He barely even registered the time passing. “Wait— shit, aren’t you hungry? Has yours gone cold?”

He sat up as though he were going to check, and Leon put a hand on his chest. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” he said, looking rather amused. “Don’t fret; I’ll just eat now. Have your tea. Still hot, I think.” 

He put a mug in his hands, warm to the touch but now cool enough to drink safely. Raihan held it close to his face and inhaled some of the lingering steam before taking a slow sip. It soothed his throat almost as much as the medicine did, and he sighed a little at the familiar taste. 

“It’s your favorite, right?” Leon said, keeping an eye on Raihan even while he was eating. 

“... Huh? Did I tell you that?” He wasn’t even sure if he had a favorite tea; he hadn’t thought about it, usually just choosing something based on his mood. 

“Oh— I suppose not? But I tried to make it how you always do after a hard match, or when one of us is down,” Leon said, taking a sip out of his own mug to remind himself. “Mm… could’ve gotten closer, I think. Guess you’ve got me beat at _one_ thing— just the one, though.” 

Raihan wasn’t really listening to Leon’s taunting, more hung up on examining the drink now. He took another couple of sips and kept the cup at his mouth, using it to hide his blush. It _did_ taste like how he made it, probably even better. That was something he didn’t even know about himself, never having paid attention to his own habits. His heart skipped a little when he thought about Leon watching him all those years; he hadn’t realized it went both ways. 

“Raihan?” Leon tilted his head a little when he wasn’t responding. “You alright?”

Raihan lowered the mug and nodded. 

“Yeah, uh— what were you saying?” 

He looked down as he swirled the last bits of the tea, watching the little flecks of leaves fall to the bottom. 

“Oh— nothing really,” Leon said, then reached over to grab a tissue from the box on the table. “Are you feeling too warm? Your nose is running again.” 

He wiped his face for him and crumpled it, then chucked it into the bin across the room. To his surprise, Raihan didn’t protest that time— prompting him to feel his forehead.

“I— I feel better, actually…” he answered slowly, closing his eyes in response to Leon’s touch, leaning into it. His hand was still cool against his slightly sticky skin, but not nearly as jarring as before; he figured his temperature must’ve come down a little. “Sorry you’re doing everything for me. ‘M really sore for some reason…” 

“Your fever’s not quite broken just yet, but it does seem like the medicine’s helping,” Leon said, then set down his mostly empty bowl so he could wrap an arm around Raihan’s shoulders, half-hugging him while he put his other hand on his chest, massaging slowly. “You’re sore ‘cause you’re ill, love. Long day.” 

Raihan hummed lowly, shifting so his head was completely resting on Leon’s arm, eyes closed. 

“That feel good?” Leon asked, charmed by Raihan’s lack of a verbal response. 

“Y… yeah. You’re… gonna make me fall asleep though. Ugh… gotta take my contacts out or I’ll go blind,” he rambled sleepily. 

“Wha— huh?” Leon blinked. That’s right; he remembered suddenly the handful of times he’d caught Raihan in a pair of glasses. But those instances were few and far between, even after knowing each other for years— most everyone, including Leon, usually forgot he needed them. “But you napped already! Is that— is that okay?”

“Oops,” he said flatly— earning a giggle out of Leon.

“Alright, come on, then… let’s get you back in bed before you pass out on me,” Leon said, leaning in and kissing Raihan’s temple. For a second, he held his breath like he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to— then relaxed into it. He had to keep reminding himself this wasn’t a dream. 

Raihan, half-asleep, warm from hugging, turned his face and tucked it into the side of Leon’s neck. He got out of his blanket burrito for a moment to put his arms around Leon’s torso, the two of them now locked in a full embrace. 

“I don’t want to move,” he said quietly. “You’re perfect.”

Leon paused for too long, words caught in his throat. He wondered if Raihan could feel his heart beating, or hear it over the low din of the television. What on earth could he say or do to show how much he loved him? He squeezed him close, trying to memorize the way this felt— the heaviness of Raihan’s head resting against him, the warmth rolling off his skin, the sound of his slow, slightly labored breathing. 

“So are you,” he finally said, though it didn’t feel like enough. He pulled back, separating them, then cupped Raihan’s face in his hands. “Come on, let’s have an early night. Don’t want you going blind.”

“Mm… then I couldn’t see your gorgeous face, right?” he mumbled. 

“Or your own, which I know you love so much,” Leon teased as he stood up, extending a hand to help Raihan into a standing position. 

“Aw, hush,” Raihan said as he stood slowly, trying not to dizzy himself too much. “Can you stay by my side…?” 

He could say his request was purely out of caution, but honestly? He wasn’t sure if he ever wanted Leon to leave his side again after this— ill or not. Leon made quick work of it, too, hooking arms with him and supporting a bit of his weight as he walked him to the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

***

It took a bit for Raihan to finish his usual nighttime routine, even with Leon around to keep him awake through it— but eventually he ended up back in his bed, Leon sitting beside him, stroking his hair while he half-heartedly tried to catch up with his social media feed (the actual last part of his nighttime routine). He was hardly reading, though, basically hypnotized by Leon’s touch. 

“Oh— before you nod off,” Leon said suddenly, “is it alright if I borrow a shirt? I didn’t know I’d be staying over.”

“Yeah, of course,” he said, kind of automatically— and then realized the implication of Leon’s request. “Wait— wait, you’re— actually staying over?” 

He hadn’t really thought about it until then, too disoriented to fully register the passage of time. He remembered the original reason they were hanging out in the first place— they were really only supposed to grab dinner and train, weren’t they? He glanced at the time on his phone— it was past 11:30; at this point, even if he took a Flying Taxi, Leon stood no chance of getting home at a reasonable hour. He felt stupid for not thinking about it earlier. 

“It’s so late… Don’t— don’t you have something in the morning?” he asked, almost sitting up now. It was extremely uncommon for Leon to have free mornings, especially while the gym challenge was running— it seemed like during those months he was in a different city practically every day, and never in bed past seven— latest. 

“Shh, calm down,” Leon said, giving him a peck on the cheek before getting up to rummage through his dresser. “It’s fine.”

“Ugh— you’re gonna have to get up so early, though…” He tried mentally calculating how much sleep Leon could get in order to make it back to Wyndon in time, but was too out of it to think properly— all he knew was that there weren’t enough hours between then and the morning. 

“No, seriously Raihan— it’s fine,” Leon repeated, smiling a little to himself as he changed out of his day clothes. 

“But it’s not…” he mumbled, almost whining. “Won’t you be exhausted?” 

“Mm… not if I sleep in, no,” Leon replied nonchalantly, getting back into the bed and making himself comfortable, actually under the covers with Raihan for the first time all day. He touched his cheek affectionately. “Cleared my schedule. It was just some routine meeting… nothing I can’t move around— for you, that is.”

Raihan blinked at him. What? Leon did _not_ cancel things— he just… _didn’t._ Sure, sometimes he would push something back an hour, or pencil in a midday nap— but _clearing his schedule?_ Unheard of. 

“Wha— meeting? With who?” he asked, not even bothering to hide his shock. He wanted to know which sorry gym leader he was putting out. 

Then suddenly Leon made a face, looking away. 

“Oh— it’s nobody,” he said. 

“... You’re an awful liar. I must know them, then,” Raihan said, moving so he could get a look at Leon’s face. “Who is it? I won’t tell ‘em what you were doing.” 

“It’s no one, seriously,” he said again, but couldn’t keep it up. “It’s just— you don’t want to know.”

“Is it Piers? Nah… he’d never make plans before noon,” Raihan said, now just throwing out guesses. “... Allister? Oh Arceus, did you cancel a meeting with Allister for me? ‘Cause that _would_ make me feel terrible—”

“What— no, it’s not— it’s not a gym leader, it’s—” Leon sighed, exasperated. “Raihan! You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“But now I’m too curious… You’re acting so dodgy.” Raihan grabbed his arm and made a pouty face, then suddenly perked up. “Oh, wait, I know— Rotom, read me my calendar events for—” 

He began the voice command, knowing Leon’s phone somewhere would start going off. 

“Ah— Rotom, stop! Nevermind!” Leon said, scrambling to interrupt the command, then glared at Raihan. “Will you give it a rest? It probably already deleted the event, anyway, after sitting through the twenty-some odd texts from Oleana—”

He realized what he’d said immediately, then braced himself. 

“Chairman Rose!” Raihan said, for an instant looking more energetic than he had all day. He grinned at Leon’s slip and having guessed right— until the reality slowly dawned on him, face darkening. “Wait. No. You cancelled a meeting with— no. For me? No way— Leon!” 

He would’ve scolded him, or at least rambled on a little more, were he not interrupted by coughing. He hid his face downwards, unintentionally gripping Leon’s shirt from the effort. 

“Ouch, careful with yourself, love— see? I told you you didn’t want to know,” Leon teased once he quieted down, rolling his eyes as he rubbed his back. “Are you happy now?”

Raihan still couldn’t think of a proper response, too stunned to speak. Was he actually dying? Was that why Leon was staying over? Why else would anyone go so out of their way for him like this? Why else would someone as important as _Leon_ inconvenience someone as important as the chairman, all just for him? It was completely beyond him. 

He leaned in and squeezed Leon tight, burying his face in Leon’s chest, too touched to properly express himself. 

“You’re so… ugh,” Raihan said, voice muffled by his shirt. “I can’t believe you… You’re gonna get in trouble.”

“Shh… I didn’t want you to worry,” Leon said, pulling the covers up slightly. “I’m good about other things; he knows that. I can do things for myself every once in a while…” 

He sounded different— darker, almost irritated, though it wasn’t clear with whom— then pulled out of the hug so he could lie down on his back, staring at the ceiling instead. Raihan looked up at him, but couldn’t see his face from his point of view. 

Raihan thought about how strange that wording was— ‘for himself’ is what he said, even though he was clearly there to take care of him. He broke himself out of the hug but kept one arm over Leon’s chest, then propped himself up on his arm and looked down at him— and he looked back, but seemed distant somehow, lost in thought even as he held the eye contact. 

“This is how close I have to be to see you properly,” he said, breaking the weird silence. “Without contacts, I mean.”

“Oh,” Leon said, then smiled a little. “Oh, that’s cute.” 

Raihan slid back down into the bed, satisfied by Leon’s smile. Then he pulled him in closer, holding him almost protectively.

“... I’m glad you cancelled,” Raihan said quietly. “Seriously. I… I was so scared you were gonna leave earlier. So… I’m glad you’re here— that you want to be here.” 

Leon stayed quiet, still laying on his back— but the feeling of Raihan’s arm over his chest reminded him to breathe. 

“I really do,” he said, seeming like he was talking more to himself than to Raihan when he said it. “It’s weird, you know? Doing something I want.”

Raihan blinked, feeling his face flush, cheek warming the pillow he was resting on. To think even Leon had selfish desires… and to think that _he_ could be one of them. 

He closed his eyes and leaned forward, pressing his lips to Leon’s cheek. It was a sweet, simple gesture, but it made his heart beat faster than when he was all over him just a little prior. _His skin is so soft,_ he thought to himself.

He stayed there until he felt something damp on his skin. 

“Lee?”

“I’m just— so glad I’m here right now,” he said. His voice didn’t sound small, or shaky— just quiet. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah,” Raihan said, lips brushing his skin. “Better than okay.”

He used his hand to gently thumb away the tiny tears at the corners of Leon’s eyes, then squeezed him even tighter. He waited for Leon to answer, but eventually his eyelids grew heavy. He yawned and tucked his face into Leon’s shoulder, nuzzling into him.

“Make sure… to sleep in,” he said in a groggy voice. 

“Mmhm. Good night, Raihan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh goodness, happy valentine's day everybody! what a lovely day to update again, and with an extra long chapter!! (i got too carried away, ahaha - plus i was quite tired these past two weeks, so forgive my inevitable errors;; and my super self-indulgent hcs ^^;) 
> 
> i hope you've all been well and that you find some warmth and joy this weekend, whether that come from a friend, pet, partner, or these lovely, cuddly boys <3 
> 
> and of course, i'm sending love your way as well - i appreciate you all so much! whether you've just stumbled on this or you've been here for some time, thank you dearly for reading!!


	6. Chapter 6

Raihan started awake when it was still pitch black in the room, save for negligible traces of moonlight streaming in through the window.

His heart was pounding in his chest and he was panting, gasping so hard and so deeply that it filled his chest with a sharp, cold pain. He could barely think, but quickly took stock of his body wherever anything hurt: his head was throbbing, his throat felt raw and parched, he was practically drenched in sweat. And it was so _hot—_ it felt like he was actually in a furnace. 

Whatever medicine he’d taken earlier must’ve worn off in the hours he was asleep, but he was too disoriented to remember that— all he could think was, _this is really bad._

The dark room gave him no clues to help him orient himself, and the whistling of harsh wind outside the window was making him paranoid and skittish as he tried to pull himself out of his nightmare. He was fully awake, but still felt the sensations and feelings from his dream settled in the pit of his stomach— he clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from crying out as his eyes quickly filled with tears. They trickled down the sides of his face when he blinked, but continued to come, blurring the outlines of his bedroom he could make out. 

He knew he needed to take something to ease his headache or he would probably be sick, he felt so dizzy— so even though he doubted he had the energy to make it to his kitchen, he tried to sit up. 

Then he finally realized he couldn’t— and not just because his muscles were sore and his body felt like lead; he realized suddenly that he was pinned to the bed, weighed down by—

Wait, what? 

He was finally present enough to realize that Leon was still in the bed— out like a rock next to him, one arm slung across his chest, preventing him from moving. The realization he was still there hit Raihan like a bus, startling him into a harsh coughing fit. He couldn’t even consider whether or not he _wanted_ to wake Leon— it was going to happen no matter what, now. 

“Lee—” he choked out between coughs, voice sounding thin. He couldn’t sit up or even turn with Leon clinging to his torso— guess that explained why he felt so damn hot. The guy was like a heater— which was normally really pleasant, when Raihan wasn’t running an awful fever. “C-could you— ngh—”

It took Leon only a second to wake up and a second more to make himself alert; he slept heavily when he let himself, but was no stranger to waking up in the middle of the night. 

He blinked and realized he was also sweating through his pajamas, mouth feeling weirdly dry— he even wondered briefly if he was sick… then realized he’d just been soaking up all of Raihan’s excess heat from hugging him. Ack, if _he_ felt this bad, Raihan must’ve been burning to bits— he wasted no time in letting him go, sitting up and tugging away some of the covers to cool off. 

“Mm… sorry, sorry,” he said tiredly, sounding groggy despite mentally being awake. “Shh…”

He cooed gently at Raihan, who was still hacking up his lungs, muffling the sound into some corner of the blanket. He rubbed his back until he quieted down, the only sound left being his strained breathing. 

“Ouch… you okay?” Leon asked in a hushed voice, heart hurting from seeing Raihan in pain. He figured it wasn’t likely Raihan would sleep through the night— he was feeling so poorly, after all— but was still sad to see him awoken so abruptly and unpleasantly. 

Raihan wasn’t quite prepared for the easy, loving sweetness in Leon’s voice; he barely even remembered that they’d fallen asleep together, that they’d almost kissed more than a few times— all of that felt so far away. Especially after his nightmare. He opened his mouth to respond, but all he could manage was a small sound— which he promptly silenced by covering his mouth. 

In his panicky state, he didn’t want to be seen crying— what would Leon think of him? And he was still so disoriented, he wasn’t even sure how to explain himself—

“Oh, sweetheart—“ Leon said as it clicked in his brain that he must’ve been woken up by a bad fever dream. Suddenly he was talking in his ‘protective eldest brother’ voice, something he’d perfected way back when Hop was still a monster-fearing toddler. It’d been a while since he soothed someone out of a nightmare, he realized, but he certainly hadn’t forgotten how to. 

“It’s alright… shh… hey, c’mere…”

He gingerly pulled Raihan’s hand away from his face. In the dark, he could barely make out his expression— but he could feel the way his hand was shaking in his, hear the way his breath hitched in his throat… and could guess based on that exactly how Raihan was feeling. He leaned over and grabbed a couple tissues from the box on the nightstand, then gently wiped at his eyes and nose. 

“Just take a deep breath, Raihan,” he said, then laid a hand on his chest. “You’re okay.”

Raihan’s breathing was still uneven, and his mind still felt far away— but Leon’s touch was grounding, and his voice crowded out the rest of his anxieties, slowly drawing him back into reality. 

“Can I sit you up?” he asked softly, still talking in a soothing voice, even as Raihan started to calm down. 

“Y— yeah,” he replied, a little bashfully, a little out of breath. He sniffled, then lifted his shirt collar to cough into it. “I’m sorry.”

His voice was small, quiet, and thick with tears and congestion. But the fact that he was answering at all and no longer crying made Leon smile as he leaned down to scoop him up. 

He intended to just prop him up on some pillows, but as soon as he pulled him up into a sitting position, Raihan had wrapped his arms around his torso and buried his face in his chest. He bit his lip— it took every fiber of his willpower not to say “aww” out loud, or squeeze him too hard. There was just something unexpected and adorable about the way Raihan snuggled against him so naturally, like they’d been doing this forever. 

“Shh… you’re fine, don’t apologize,” Leon said, rubbing his back. “Bad dream?”

“Yeah…” Raihan hugged him a little tighter, balling up some of Leon’s shirt in his hands. 

“Want to talk about it? You don’t have to.”

Raihan shook his head.

He felt helpless and immature for crying, and it didn’t help that his voice was coming out thin and uneven from his sore throat. He honestly couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have Leon there— he knew he would have exhausted himself panicking had he been alone. But still… wasn’t that something everyone just had to go through?

This, by contrast, was too good to be true— he wasn’t sure if he even expected this kind of treatment from a partner. And they weren’t actually dating— or were they? He hazily remembered all his stolen kisses, and Leon’s interrupted attempt. Did that stuff… count? Shouldn’t there have been some elaborate confession, or at least a proper date? 

He’d always envisioned _himself_ as the one to come clean about his feelings, treating Leon to something indulgent and impressive, finally giving him the attention he deserved— but it seemed like all he’d done all day was cry, sleep, and cough his lungs up… not exactly the spitting image of romance. Ugh… was he ever going to get this right? 

“S-sorry for waking you up… you’re so tired all the time, I shouldn’t have— I just—” he fumbled over his words. 

“Raihan, it’s fine…” Leon repeated calmly, continuing to pet him, but he could feel himself blushing at Raihan’s displays of concern. Wasn’t he the sick one? The one in pain, who’d just had a nightmare? What on _earth_ was he doing worrying himself about him? It made him want to chuckle as much as it nearly brought tears to his eyes— Raihan was really too sweet. 

“But I’m acting like a…—” His voice sounded shaky, uncertain, and still a little slurred with confusion and sleep. “I— I don’t wanna bother…” 

“You’re not; not at all, I promise,” Leon pulled back a little and kissed the top of his head, holding him like that a moment longer as he let out a long sigh, then finally leaned him back against the pillows like he’d meant to. “You could never bother me, trust me.”

Before Raihan could say more, he pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, properly checking his temperature for the first time since waking up. Then he almost jumped— drawing his hand back like he’d touched an iron. Luckily, it was dark enough that Raihan couldn’t see the split second of panic in his eyes. 

If Leon wasn’t fully alert before, he was now. Raihan’s skin was concerningly hot to the touch— which he knew was probably partially his fault for trapping him in a hug… oops. He quickly swallowed down his nervousness before speaking again— he didn’t want to let it show. 

“Ah— your fever’s gone up a tad… I’m gonna go fetch you a fresh water and some medicine, okay?” 

He started to get out of the bed in a hurry when Raihan grabbed him by the arm. 

“You— you don’t… mind?” he asked, with a hint of paranoia clinging to his words. “I can do it… you can go back to sleep…”

Leon was having trouble gauging his expression and tone in the dark— but his grip felt weak, almost shaky— he highly doubted he would be able to walk to the kitchen safely if he tried. 

He looked away to mask how troubled he felt by Raihan’s insistence on doing everything himself. Rather than voice it, though, he opted instead for just doing what he did best— focusing his energy and prioritizing the task at hand. No use trying to talk some sense into him when he was basically delirious… there’d be time for that later.

“Raihan. You can’t possibly—” he began, then frowned and started again, a little gentler. “... You shouldn’t push yourself. Of course I don’t mind; that’s the whole reason I stayed over, isn’t it? Lucky thing, too…” 

He cupped his cheek his palm, not flinching this time at how hot it felt. 

“You must feel awful right now— the only thing you should be doing is resting, okay?” he said, leaning in close so he could actually see Raihan’s face, sketched by the dim glow of moonlight from the window. 

Raihan bit his lip, but nodded slowly, earning him a kiss on the forehead. 

“I’ll only be a moment,” he said on his way out, then lingered in the doorway like he’d almost tripped or gotten distracted— before shaking his head and hurrying himself out. 

Raihan couldn’t see his face— he could barely see anything, really, but it _felt_ like Leon was about to say something. Well, whatever… he could have been imagining it. 

He sank a little into the mattress, staring up at his ceiling. Though he tried to open up his phone out of habit, the brightness even on the lowest setting made him wince in pain from his headache; it took a couple pats and hushed reassurances to calm down his remorseful Rotom. 

Without anything to occupy his attention, he lost track of time, listening to the wind outside as his mind hovered between consciousness and sleep. How on earth did he get to feeling so awful, he wondered to himself— head hurting enough that he could practically hear his pulse in his ears. He began to get nervous about when Leon would return— how long had he even been gone? Not more than a few minutes, probably, but it felt longer— and the bed slowly getting colder didn’t help with the separation anxiety… 

He squeezed a pillow next to him for some reassurance and shut his eyes. Suddenly, he remembered little snippets of his dream: an overheard conversation between Leon and the chairman, a pitch black thunderstorm passing through Hammerlocke in the middle of the day… 

***

Leon took a couple deep breaths as he walked to the kitchen. He could still feel the words he meant to say linger in his throat, on his tongue: _I love you._

He could have just said it, right? Everything in his body wanted to say it, and say it over and over again— say it until Raihan could never forget, as exhausted and delirious as he was. But in the end, his nerves got the better of him; he didn’t want to freak him out too much, after all. 

Because even though they were being sweet with each other now, did it really mean Raihan _loved_ him? Would saying it out loud be too impulsive? Or presumptuous? Should he wait for a better day? And what did that even mean— ‘a better day’... As if he hadn’t been loving Raihan every single freaking day for the past decade of their friendship. 

His face felt hot just thinking about it— he should probably get a drink for himself too while in the kitchen, he thought. 

Now that he was in the half-lit corridor of Raihan’s flat, alone where no one could see him, he let himself properly feel everything he’d been shoving down for the past couple of minutes— all the worry seemed to wash over him at once. He knew Raihan was fine, or at least would be— he was just ill, not dying— but he couldn’t stop himself from overthinking the peculiar way he kept up his guard up, continually pushing him away… Did he really not trust him? After all this time? 

He tried not to take it _too_ personally… (Especially since he knew he wasn’t exactly the best at accepting help, either.) But he still noticed his hands shaking as he gathered his small assortment of things: a cool glass of water, the detested medicine bottle from earlier, some aspirin for good measure, and a wet washcloth. 

Well— it was fine, he figured, if Raihan didn’t trust him right away… He wasn’t exactly the most consistent friend these past few years, especially under the pressure of his job and the chairman… But that could change— it _would_ change. He certainly cared enough. More than enough. And he was used to earning things; it’d just take a bit of hard work. He shook it off as he walked back to the room, arms full of stuff. 

Maybe the first thing he wanted quite this badly was to win the championship all those years back— become Galar’s hero and whatnot. It was fine if the second was a _little_ more selfish— to make his best friend feel every last ounce of stupid, painful love his heart had to give.

***

Raihan wasn’t quite asleep, but he wasn’t quite awake either— lost in his feverish anxieties as Leon stumbled in through the door, nearly tripping himself on his way in. 

This slightly clumsy Leon— fumbling through the dark in a baggy, old Hammerlocke t-shirt and boxers (with some killer bedhead to boot)— was starkly different from the Leon in Raihan’s nightmare: deathly serious, dangerously self-sacrificing, and definitely in some kind of trouble— either with the chairman, or with something else. But _real_ Leon sounded like this: 

“Oops—!” 

… as he just about dropped everything but the glass of water onto the mattress. 

“Sorry! I didn’t hit you, did I? I didn’t want to bother you with the light…” 

Yeah… the whiplash was a little much for Raihan in his half-awake stupor. 

“... Mmnh— wh… what…?” His voice came out dry and groggy as he tried to focus on what Leon was saying, though he couldn’t quite differentiate it from his paranoid fever dream just yet. “A-are you okay…?”

He was shivering, slightly chilled since Leon left the bed— but he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t mostly from his nightmare. Everything in his brain wanted to do something, anything, to help— despite the half-awareness that Leon was right there, and he was fine.

“Huh? Why wouldn’t I be—” Leon began, then got a slightly closer look at Raihan— trembling, curled up and hugging himself. His heart dropped into his stomach— he hadn't been gone for that long, was he? What happened? He tried to bite back his anxiety— but that was getting harder and harder to do the more he saw Raihan upset. “H-hey… what’s the matter? Are you cold?”

Raihan covered his face with his hands trying to collect himself, pausing painstakingly before forming a response. 

“I… I don’t know— I thought—” He swallowed, furrowing his brow. “I thought something happened to you…?” 

He sounded uncertain and confused, like the words didn’t make sense to him either. 

“In my dream… I think,” he added on, after a beat. “That sounds dumb… ugh. I— I just— got scared that… I don’t know.”

Leon blinked. Raihan was dreaming… about him? 

“That’s not dumb…” he mumbled, finally sitting down in the bed next to Raihan, who immediately moved to his side, loosely holding his shirt and leaning into him. That would never _not_ be cute, Leon thought to himself. Right— he was in the middle of saying something. 

“That’s… not dumb at all— that— that’s actually really sweet,” he went on, staring down into the cup of water he was still holding. “But… I’m really alright for now, Raihan. Promise. _You’re_ the one who’s ill; did you forget?”

He managed a small smile and a gentle exhale. 

“You promise?” Raihan said, barely audible with his face tucked against Leon. 

“Of course… you’d be among the first to know if I was in trouble, I would think. But I’m really okay right now— better than okay, actually, since I’m with you,” he said, using one hand to stroke Raihan’s hair. 

“Can you sit up…? You still need to drink something, love.” 

Raihan slowly lifted his head and shifted until he was propped up again, at least enough to drink without spilling water on himself. 

“You keep calling me that…” he murmured dazedly as he tried to take the cup, but Leon held it up to his face instead. He leaned forward and sipped from it— entire body practically slumping with relief as he finally got some moisture into his system. 

“Yeah, because I— because—” 

Leon nearly spilled a little of the water onto Raihan’s chest, wrists weak suddenly. He hadn’t realized his heart was beating so fast until his breath literally caught in his throat. 

The slight fumble elicited a tiny smile from Raihan despite how out of it he felt. At least he could still catch Leon slipping up.

“Because…?” 

Okay, _now_ he might have been teasing… Even panicky and half-delirious, drained of all his energy, it was hard not to fall into their usual playfulness. 

“You’re ruining this for me.”

Raihan could _hear_ the pout; gosh, that was cute. 

“No— go on… it’ll make me feel better.”

“Because I— oh, Arceus…” He was gripping that stupid glass of water for dear life at this point. "I— clearly, you already know, Raihan!”

Raihan _almost_ laughed, but it turned into a cough— he turned his head away and winced. 

“Ow, fuck,” he said in his hoarse voice— through a smile, though. “Come on… just say it, it’ll make the medicine go down easier.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Leon said, rolling his eyes, both completely flustered and exasperated at this point. Though somehow, he knew there was probably some truth to Raihan’s teasing. 

“I—… _I love you, alright?”_ he finally managed after some squirming, talking too fast and slightly too loud, like he was out of breath. Now _he_ was the dizzy one… and on the verge of tears. Go figure. 

“I really, really do, so please, stop worrying about me so much… Just let me do all these silly little things for you— like, forcing you to take real medicine, or cancelling meetings, or— or _trying to kiss you—“_

Now he was rambling. And possibly crying. 

“—because even though it’s reckless, and I could get in trouble, it’s the only thing _I_ want, for me— just _being_ _here,_ for you… and I feel like I’ve done a crummy job of it so far—“

“Wait, Lee— hang on—” Raihan was barely keeping up, mind still foggy and operating at about half-speed. What was he going on about…? And why was he crying? He tapped his shoulder. “L— Lee. _Leon,_ stop!”

He couldn’t really raise his voice with any authority, but the stress on his full name quieted him down in an instant. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just—”

“Shh… I love you, too,” Raihan said, managing to keep his cool… despite the fact that his heart was probably going as fast as Leon’s. 

Oh man, he really just said that, out loud, completely seriously for the first time… ever, probably. Sure, his mind felt soupy, and his body felt worse— but this was just too good to not savor every moment of it, feeling slightly giddy inside. He sighed a little— the air felt lighter now. 

He reached over to grab a clean tissue and gingerly wiped at Leon’s now down-turned face— he was clearly trying to hide it, even though it was impossible to see anything in the dark. For a moment, the only sound was Leon’s breathing— a little shaken, but slower, now. Then Raihan leaned in and planted a light kiss on his temple.

“... I love you so much, I’ll even drink that foul cough syrup again…”

“Ah— r-right, sorry!” Leon blinked, gradually composing himself as he remembered they were actually in the middle of something. “And, um… thanks, Raihan.”

“Mmhm… anything for you, champ…” Raihan murmured, leaning back into the pillows once he was sure Leon had calmed down. “... or should I call you somethin’ new? … sweetheart?” 

Leon made a face at that, thoroughly amused.

Raihan sounded pretty out of it— he wondered if he would even remember this the next morning. But what did it matter? Raihan _loved_ him. They could say it as many times as they needed to, now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, everyone! 
> 
> i thought an early upload was in order this week - & hopefully the light angst wasn't too jarring,, truly, it just boils down to the fact that they just love each other too much, haha. (also yes, raihan may be part psychic-type in this section, as i know he basically predicts the future...)
> 
> this is still on a two-week, friday schedule; i just couldn't wait to post this one! also i feel like everyone (myself included ahah) has been a little tired and strung out lately, so i hope this cuddly update finds all of you well - and if not, at least provides a little comfort, just like writing it has for me! please take care, everyone ^^
> 
> and thank you for your support; getting the chance to read and respond to your lovely comments has meant so much to me!


	7. Chapter 7

“Egh… I still hate this.” 

Raihan stuck his tongue out, making a face as he sank down into the blankets; Leon just shook his head and smiled. 

“I thought you said you weren’t going to complain?” 

“No… I said I’d drink it, not that I’d be nice about it,” Raihan mumbled, but he seemed visibly more relaxed, a little more present. It occurred to him that he’d forever associate that bittersweet medicine taste with Leon, now— which made him smile in spite of himself. 

“Well, that’s fine— so long as you take it, I’m happy,” Leon laughed— in his easy, gentle way, and he leaned down to kiss Raihan’s forehead like it was the most natural thing in the world. “And anyway, you’ve been nice enough to me to last a lifetime… so you’ve earned your right to whine, I suppose.”

Leon was speaking slowly, kind of drowsily— but he wasn’t tired, exactly. He felt more like he was floating, or dreaming— especially as he saw the sky change color as the sun just started to come up. After all, he was still riding all the adrenaline from his impromptu confession (despite the fact that it wasn’t… exactly a secret in the slightest), making it hard to not feel giddy despite the fact that his body should’ve been exhausted. 

He realized this was around the time he should’ve been getting ready for a meeting, and suddenly couldn’t stop himself from thinking about it, overly relieved to be skipping out on work. He did feel bad to cancel— and he felt even worse to cancel on his job— but this was worth it. He was just so tired of choosing between things— or more like having to choose work over every other thing, all the time. Didn’t he earn at least this? 

His gaze fell downwards onto the sight of Raihan’s face looking warm, smiley, and comfortable in the dim yellow of the early morning. He had dreadful bed head, made worse by the fact that he’d been sweating out his fever and tossing in his sleep, and he looked a little pale, completely drained of energy. But Arceus be damned if he wasn’t the most gorgeous thing Leon had ever seen. 

“…Lee?” 

“Huh?” Leon blinked. He’d definitely missed whatever the last thing Raihan said was, then flushed immediately at having been caught staring. “Sorry… what?”

That made Raihan laugh— gosh, he was as readable as a book sometimes. Raihan wondered if this was the same person he battled up in Wyndon— there was no edge, no calculation— it was so rare to see Leon just _being._ He bit his lip to keep from smiling too much. 

“Nothin’… just asked if you were tired, is all.” 

He scooted over a little and made some space for Leon to return to his side. 

“A little,” Leon said, sitting down. He turned to Raihan and stroked his cheek— still warm to the touch, but nothing like when he’d woken up. “I… don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, though.”

“Why’s that?”

“N-nothing…” he stammered, earning him a quirked brow and inquisitive look from Raihan. “Well— nothing _bad,_ at least… I don’t know, I’ve still got butterfree in my stomach. I think I’m just— I might love you too much.” 

“You’re being a sap…” he murmured, but his heart was pounding as he turned away to hide his face. It sped up even more when he felt Leon take his hand, slowly intertwining their fingers. He couldn’t help but give it a nervous squeeze, then tried to form a coherent sentence. “C’mon, I’ll still be here when you wake up… You didn’t have trouble falling asleep the first time.”

“But now it’s different,” Leon insisted softly. “Can I look at you longer?”

The request was so earnest that Raihan instinctively faced him, and Leon leaned in closer— a lot closer. 

“H-hey. Where’s your Rotom? Just check my feed… I look better there,” Raihan said with a nervous laugh; he knew he definitely looked like hell, probably even worse than earlier that day. It felt weird being embarrassed to be looked at— it wasn’t like him. But _nothing_ about this was like anything he’d ever done, or felt, before. And Leon’s eyes were so bright, their yellow hue turned golden by the morning light coming in through the window— their undivided attention was almost too pretty to bear. He cleared his throat. “Uh… I— I’m still sick… shouldn’t get too close.”

That was just a lame excuse at this point, and they both knew it. 

“Is that a dash of insecurity I hear? From the great Raihan himself…?” Leon teased, leaning in even closer— close enough to press his lips to Raihan’s cheek, then his temple. “I can only cancel on Rose so many times before I get fired, or something like that. I have to make the most of this, you know— I’m not gonna _not_ touch you.”

The comment made Raihan pause, but he didn’t want to stop Leon when he seemed so content. He wanted to say something to console him— but was that even supposed to sound sad? Clearly not; he was grinning ear to ear, even through the kiss. Maybe he was right, and they should savor their time together. But something about that felt off to Raihan.

“Can you even _be_ fired…? Seriously. That guy can’t…” he finally spoke up, but trailed off, not wanting to push it. Instead, he gave Leon’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, doesn’t matter; the only way you’re losing your job is _to_ me, not _for_ me.” 

“Mmhm,” Leon hummed through a playful smile. “Of course.”

“I mean it,” Raihan insisted, but he clearly didn’t. The threat had barely any bite to it as he left himself melt into Leon’s touch, both too in love and too preoccupied to make it convincing in the slightest. He closed his eyes and sighed, which turned into a cough. He winced, but it hurt less than before, which he was thankful for. “... ugh, sorry.”

“Shh. No more apologizing— at least until you get better,” Leon said, putting a hand over Raihan’s chest. “Do you want some water? You’ve been sweating a ton; surely you must be dehydrated.”

Leon said it so lovingly, Raihan could almost ignore the reminder that he was, in fact, drenched in his own sweat from earlier. He leaned away slightly, suddenly all too self-conscious of how sticky his skin felt.

“Ack— you’re right, that’s gross…”

“It’s not gross if it’s you,” Leon said, then kissed him on the head again for good measure before getting the cup of water. “Here, just sit up a tad bit and I’ll hold it for you.”

Raihan did as he was told, too comfortable to protest; he could feel himself becoming drowsy as the medicine kicked in. But he found it hard to relax fully as he noticed the subtle shift in Leon’s attitude— he was acting so… determined, bordering on excessive, in his doting. Which was sweet, if a little embarrassing— it was nice to be worried about— but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Leon’s mind was elsewhere. He mulled it over as he leaned forward and slowly sipped from the glass, feeling soothed by the coolness of the water. 

“Better?”

“Yeah,” Raihan replied, blinking at him tiredly— but his mind felt clearer. “You know I love you, right?” 

The sudden comment and grounded feeling to Raihan’s voice caught Leon off-guard, and he made a puzzled face. 

“Yes? W-well, now I do, I mean after we—” he stammered awkwardly, then cut himself off, too flustered to finish. “Why?”

“Just checking…” Raihan said, then reached up and straightened out Leon’s hair for him. He got quiet, trying to place his words carefully in his head before speaking— he wasn’t exactly good at this sort of thing, and was sure that Leon was probably worse. But he didn’t want Leon going to bed feeling uneasy, especially not on his rare day off, so he finally cleared his throat and asked as casually as possible: “Is something… bothering you?”

Leon furrowed his brow. 

“I don’t… think so?” He was certain he was happy; what reason did he have to be anything but happy? But the question struck a chord of anxiety in him, and he swallowed nervously before speaking. “Am I— is something off? Did I do something? Something wrong?”

Raihan pulled away to look at him, but Leon’s gaze was fixed downward, bangs falling into his face. 

“Hey,” Raihan cooed, sitting up a little more. “No, ‘course not, Lee. You’re fine… you just seem anxious— like… you’re almost being _too_ nice to me? That make sense?” 

“No?” Leon said, smiling a little confusedly. “I could never be too nice to you… I— I don’t think there’s _anything_ I could do to make up for— to show you how much I love you. I don’t think it’ll ever be enough.”

He meant it as a compliment, as something sweet, but as soon as he started speaking he suddenly understood what Raihan was talking about; his words dripped with insecurity. _To make up for—..._ That was what he’d started to say, but he stopped when he realized how desperate it sounded. He fidgeted uncomfortably, too tired to control himself or his thoughts, but too on edge to relax. What was wrong with him? Why did he have to make everything about him? Couldn’t he have just let Raihan go back to sleep, or—

“Lee,” he heard suddenly. “Leon. Darling. You’ve _got_ to stop being so hard on yourself…”

Leon blinked, then noticed he’d been balling up his shirt in his hands, breath caught in his throat. 

Raihan reached over and gently uncurled his fingers, spreading open his palms, then slung an arm over him and squeezed him close. 

“Just breathe. I’m here.”

Leon paused and listened as he felt Raihan do it first, then followed the slow pattern of his breathing as he started to loosen his muscles, which he didn’t even realize he’d been tensing. They stayed still for several minutes, and for a second Raihan even wondered if Leon had fallen asleep. 

“I’m sorry… I’m the one that should be taking care of you.”

“Why? ‘Cause I’m ill?” Raihan asked, then propped himself up to press a kiss to Leon’s cheek. “I’m still allowed to love you, you know. Easier than battling you, for sure.”

Leon smiled a little bashfully. 

“You’re silly,” he mumbled. “No, I meant… because— I don’t know. Because I… I owe you? Ugh, that sounds wrong— I mean— it just feels that way, I guess.”

“Ohh,” Raihan said, feigning understanding. “For letting you win all the time? Or did you mean something else?” 

“Arceus, enough with the teasing, mate,” Leon said, rolling his eyes— but he couldn’t help the laughter slipping through. He turned his head to find his face only an inch or two from Raihan’s face, both of their cheeks resting against the same pillow. He quieted down as he stared at Raihan’s sleepy, sunken eyes— he’d never seen them from so close, before. “I meant because— because you love me.”

“But everybody loves you… probably even more than I do.” 

“Come on, be serious, you dope…”

“I _am_ being serious— Lee, you’re the most loved person in Galar… maybe ever.” Leon didn’t look convinced, but he went on. He cupped the exposed half of Leon’s face in one hand, running his thumb over his cheekbone. “I just don’t get it. How could you owe _me_ for loving you?”

“It’s not the same— everyone else can only love me because they don’t have to— to put up with me. But you do,” Leon said, leaning in so that their foreheads pressed together. He closed his eyes; it made it easier to speak. “Er, well— you don’t _have_ to, that is. But you have been. For so long. Even though I wasn’t there for— I-I wasn’t around to— I just…”

He trailed off. 

“I shouldn’t be making this about me… you’re probably tired,” he said, switching topics and leaving his sentence unfinished. He felt his voice start to tremble and shut his eyes, determined not to cry.

“Hush, I’m fine. But— put up with you?” Raihan’s voice became airy with disbelief, and he hurried to pull Leon into his chest, rubbing his back. “Put up with you… gosh. Lee, is that what you think I’ve been doing?”

Leon’s entire body went rigid, fighting desperately to keep all of his emotions in. He returned Raihan’s embrace and squeezed him hard, gritting his teeth. The sudden force of the hug even made Raihan wheeze a little, chest still sore from straining it all day, but he didn’t quite mind as long as it made Leon feel better. 

“You deserve so much more…” Leon said, but it was hardly audible, muffled by Raihan’s shirt. He paused to collect himself, then tried to speak up— but it was clear he was just barely holding himself together. “Raihan, I’m sorry… I should’ve been doing all of this years ago— spending time with you… looking after you… I’m a rubbish friend— let alone partner. That’s why you were so shocked I cancelled my meeting, isn’t it? Because I’m never around? Because I always put other things first? But I _do_ love you— I just— how can I prove it? How can I make it up to you? And— and everyone else?”

He made a frustrated noise at himself. 

“I keep trying to be everywhere at once, but I can’t— it’s not enough— I’m just one person…”

His voice broke on the last few words, and he let out a choked sound as he pressed his face to Raihan’s chest. 

“Y-yeah,” Raihan said, shocked by the honesty, “you are. You’re just one person, Lee. I think you forget that, sometimes. You’re doing a fine job… shh, you’re doing just fine… Come on, deep breath— there you go…”

He coached him through a couple more breaths, stroking his hair, before clearing his throat to answer properly. 

“Look… we’re _friends,_ Lee. You don’t exist to— to _serve_ me, for Arceus’ sake— or anyone, for that matter,” he said softly, pulling back so he could look at Leon while he spoke. He pushed his bangs up out of his eyes, then brushed away stray tears. “Not the league, not Galar— and _especially_ not the chairman. I just… really want you to do what _you_ want. Whether it’s work, training, bumming around with me— I couldn’t care less. You’re already my best friend, and I’ve _been_ in love with you for ages, so… don’t worry about it so much. Alright?”

Leon was blushing so hard he thought he might explode, but he didn’t have anything to hide under— so he settled for yanking the collar of his shirt over his face. 

“R-raihan…” 

“Awh… come on, now,” Raihan said with a slightly hoarse laugh, patting Leon on the back. “You’re gonna make me embarrassed.” 

“I just— love you so much,” Leon managed, laughing and crying through his words. He sniffled and used his shirt to wipe his eyes before emerging. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess…”

“What’ve I been all day? You’re fine,” Raihan said, then held his breath for a split second, psyching himself up, then pressed a quick kiss to Leon’s cheek. “I love you too, you bloody perfectionist. I swear, you’re not allowed out of this bed before noon, tomorrow.”

Leon grinned, feeling naughty. When was the last time he’d even slept in past eight? He cupped Raihan’s slightly sticky, still warm cheeks in his hands. 

“…It’s really hard not being able to kiss you right now,” he said, pulling Raihan closer, only to feel him resist and jerk his head back an inch or so. 

“Hey— you’re taking off a day, not a week, mate— ‘m not about to make you ill…” Raihan said, but he could hear his own resolve faltering. Would it be so awful to kiss him? Would that be terribly selfish? Putting the region’s champion out of commission for a couple days… for one moment? He huffed a little at himself for even considering it. “…Oleana’ll have my head if I do.”

“Oh, what a load of tosh; you don’t care about that— you never have,” Leon said, leaning in. “Admit it.”

“Lee…” Raihan squirmed under the attention, but before he could answer, turned his head to the side to cough into his shoulder. “S-see? Gross. C’mon… let’s just go to bed, darling—”

“I know, you’re just scared of hurting me— or taking my time,” Leon went on, turning Raihan’s face back toward his own. “But it’s _fine,_ love— I’m a fair bit healthier than you, anyhow. Might not even catch it. Definitely already did, if I was going to.”

“I— yeah…” He could feel himself getting red in the face from the blatant flirting; this was more like the Leon he was used to. Always pushing him to his limits. Though he didn’t expect it to show up like this. “But I— our first… it’s s’posed to be…” 

He was fumbling over all his words. Was he really such a hopeless romantic that he needed to plan a perfect first kiss? Or maybe he was just so vain that he couldn’t bring himself to do it when he didn’t look his best? He bit his lip, then let his eyes wander down to Leon’s. Damn it; everything about him was gorgeous, and lovely, and way too tempting. How many times had he daydreamed this exact thing, only to turn it down now? 

“It can be our secret,” Leon said, running his thumb over Raihan’s lips. “How’s that? We’ll have our proper ‘first kiss’ another day— I’ll even let you snap a photo— when you’re well. But…”

He trailed off, then stroked back Raihan’s hair— he didn’t care that it was slightly greasy and unkempt from tossing in bed. All he could think about was how gentle and cozy he looked with it down— and now he’d get to wake up to this whenever he could get down to Hammerlocke, or drag Raihan around Galar. 

“I think not kissing you right now is far more painful than anything you could give me,” he finished.

Raihan was like putty, melting in his hands at this point. He already _knew_ he was going to give in, but held off just a second longer—

“Promise me you’ll take it easy if you feel unwell later?”

“If you promise to keep me company,” he said— and it was all he could get out before Raihan’s lips were on his. 

He didn’t take his time sinking into it.

His hands found their place in Raihan’s hair, keeping it out of both their faces— and he could feel Raihan’s fall upon his back as his arms circled him in a hug— gingerly, with hints of nervousness, like Leon was the most precious thing in the world. He could feel shyness in the way Raihan kissed— taking it slow, just barely hesitating before every movement. 

Every worry Leon had about not knowing how to kiss someone, or never really having done it before, dissipated into nothing— Raihan was just so _warm,_ so gentle, that despite the adrenaline rush, he felt cozy enough to fall asleep right there in the low morning light.

Raihan wasn't always so tender with his partners, but he noticed it in himself, too; maybe it was because he still felt a little fuzzy from his fever, or his disheveled appearance bringing out his bashfulness—… but he knew the real reason was probably the fact that he’d been imagining this moment for _so long…_ And yet there was almost no pressure— Leon _had_ promised him a redo, after all— so despite knowing he was definitely the more experienced of the two, he let himself take it easy, kissing him slowly, drowsily, picking up most of his cues from Leon. And he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a natural… ‘course he was; he was _Leon,_ for Arceus’ sake. 

He felt hands move down onto his jaw, cupping his face and pulling it forward as he felt Leon slip him some tongue— okay, _that_ was a bit of a surprise— and he couldn’t help but smile, even as he was being fervently made out with. Yup, Leon could be readable as a book in private— and all he was saying right now was how much he wanted Raihan. 

He savored that feeling for just a second longer before tapping out, pulling away a little breathlessly. He sniffled quietly and coughed into his shirt collar. 

“S-sorry,” he said, laughing through his words, “couldn’t breathe. Might not be able to tucker you out feeling like this, champ.”

“Ah— too much?” All of Leon’s fire fizzled out at once, leaving him a flustered, slightly winded mess. “I’m not very— I-I haven’t really— you’re just…”

“Shh, you’re perfect,” Raihan said, pulling him in for a tight squeeze and a peck on the lips. “Save some of that for our real first kiss, ‘kay?”

Leon furrowed his brow, then broke into laughter when he remembered his earlier comment. 

“You’re ridiculous… I love you.”

“I’m serious,” Raihan said sleepily, kissing him again with his eyes closed, then once more on his cheek. “This was just an exhibition match. Don’t expect me to go easy on you next time…”

“I-I don’t think it’s a competition, love!” Leon stammered, covering his face with his hands to hide his blush. 

“Oh? Sounds like someone’s scared to lose…” Raihan laughed and rolled onto his back, letting out a sigh. “I love you.”

Leon rolled his eyes, but leaned over to kiss his forehead, slightly damp with sweat. 

“You sound tired, love,” he said, stroking his hair. 

“Exhausted,” Raihan replied, not even opening his eyes. 

“But better than before?” 

“Tenfold. Your kisses must be magic,” he said, opening his eyes a sliver just to look over at Leon’s face. 

“Uh huh. Definitely wasn’t the medicine I tasted on your lips, right?”

“Nah, definitely not…” Raihan said with a smile. “Aren’t you tired, too?”

“Hm? A little— but my body’s used to being up around this time… honestly, you’re the only thing making me sleepy— I’ll probably pass out after you do,” Leon answered. “Are you comfortable, love?” 

“Mmhm…” he said, then eyed his dresser. “Should probably change outta this gross shirt… but ‘m too tired.” 

“What’d I stay the night for, if not to fetch you clothes at five in the morning?” Leon asked, kissing him one more time before sliding out of the bed to grab a clean t-shirt out of his drawer. 

“Five in the…? Ugh,” was Raihan’s only response as he covered his face with his arm. 

“Come on, just this and you can get back to sleep,” Leon said in a soothing voice, getting his arms under Raihan and lifting him into an upright position with ease. 

“You’re so strong,” Raihan mumbled, going completely limp other than wrapping his arms around Leon’s torso and burying his face in his neck, comforted by his presence. 

Leon couldn’t help but smile and rubbed his back in a slow circle. 

“So are you, when you don’t push yourself so hard,” he said, then slowly lifted Raihan’s sweat-dampened shirt up off his torso. “Gonna have to let me go for a sec, love.”

Raihan did as he was told— sort of— one arm at a time until he was shirtless. A shiver ran down his spine and he suddenly pitched forward with a gasp, muffling a quiet sneeze onto Leon’s shoulder, instinctively clutching him closer. He would’ve turned away, but his reaction time was too slow to make it there… and Leon was too warm to let go of. 

“Sorry… ew,” he mumbled, but he didn’t loosen his hold. 

“You’re fine,” Leon said, massaging his bare shoulders. “Adorably polite about it, too.”

“… hush.”

“It’s cute,” Leon insisted, then gingerly pulled himself free of the hug so he could help Raihan into the fresh shirt. Once it was on, he laid him back down in the same position and pulled the blanket up to his chest. “Comfy?”

“Mm…” Raihan hummed, barely able to keep his eyes open. 

Leon brushed his hair back and then grabbed the cool, damp hand towel he’d brought in with him off the nightstand. 

“Want me to wash your face? It’s not too cold, don’t worry.”

He nodded and shut his eyes in anticipation, then let out an audible sigh of relief at the feel of the cloth on his skin. Leon ran it over his forehead, then his cheeks one by one, poring over him until he got to every last spot; then he folded it in half and laid the cool rectangle across his forehead. Raihan noticed that for once, he didn’t feel too warm or too cold at all— he figured his fever must’ve finally broken, probably for good. 

Between that, the drowsy effect from the medicine, and the feel of a clean t-shirt, he wondered if he’d ever felt so comfortable and safe in his life before. It was as though the beginning of the day— and every other day and night that he’d trudged through taking care of himself alone— was some strange, terrible dream. Because this was obviously the way things were supposed to go, right? Why did he ever doubt that? 

He cracked open an eye to get a last glimpse at Leon’s face as he drifted off. 

“That feel okay?” Leon asked, having thought Raihan was asleep. 

“Mm…” he hummed. He wanted to say it was perfect— that _he_ was perfect. That their dumb, botched date had been perfect, and even their silly not-first-kiss had been just— perfect. But he was too dazed to piece his thoughts together, and his mouth didn’t want to form the words— and anyway, it looked like Leon understood. 

“I’m glad… Ah, you really gave me a scare earlier, darling. But you’ll be fighting fit by tomorrow— er, today,” Leon said quietly, talking more to himself than to Raihan as he slid down into the covers. He clung on his arm, nuzzling his face to Raihan’s shoulder, inhaling deeply before letting out a sigh. 

He was going to wake up in the afternoon. _The afternoon!_ When was the last time he’d done that? Better not make a habit of it, he thought… and then his eyes wandered up to the sleeping face of his lover, and he thought about he’d likely wake to the same exact sight. Now that, though, he _could_ make a habit of… 

By the time the sun climbed high enough to pour in through the window, they were both fast asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my goodness, it's been a while hasn't it! sorry for the delay on this chapter; i wanted to get this right!! 
> 
> i know times are strange and scary, so i hope you're all doing well and taking care of yourselves ;; i'm sending warmth and comfort everyone's way! (and,, don't worry... raihan's just got a cold, nothing more at all, ahah. and leon's got a champion immune system! so they're good. but i don't condone their romance-driven recklessness!!! be more responsible than these lovebirds)
> 
> anyhow, i'll leave it here for this fic; it's been such fun to flesh out this cozy, self-indulgent scenario where nothing really happens, and i'm still beyond touched that you guys have read up to this point and left me such kind words,, 
> 
> (though i may, in between writing other things, upload a shorter epilogue-ish chapter to this at some point - who knows)
> 
> but yeah! see you guys in the next one; more of these two in the pipeline. but for now, thank you for everything! stay safe and cozy


End file.
